


Can we kiss like we do in my head?

by AngelApollo



Category: Total Drama (Cartoon)
Genre: Body Worship, Cody is a bit messed up from stress and Noah is self conscious, College, Domestic Fluff, Drunk Kissing, Fluff, Getting Together, Kissing, Like crazy sweet domestic, M/M, Napping, Porn with Feelings, Sharing Clothes, Sharing a Bed, Sickfic, Snippets, Valentine's Day, body issues, but it is touched upon more than once, it's not the main focus of the fic, so if you're triggered by any of that please don't read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:15:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 26,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24762949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelApollo/pseuds/AngelApollo
Summary: Set in their college years, Cody ends up sharing an apartment with Owen, Izzy and Noah, and eventually, a bed with Noah.Started off as little snippets that I merged into one fic, so it's little extracts of sickeningly sweet tropes of the two of them getting together.
Relationships: Cody Anderson/Noah, Izzy/Owen (Total Drama)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 96





	1. Part 1

\------------

INTRO

\------------

It had been 7 years since Total Drama Island, and the cast were now in their early twenties, scattered around Canada, or in some cases, around the world.

Noah and Owen had moved to Toronto after their time on Ridonculous Race, and Izzy met them there. The three found an apartment together, and with the money from various shows, decided to just buy it instead of dealing with rent payments and shitty landlords. Only a few blocks away, Gwen, Sierra and Cody lived together, and the six kept close.

After a few months, DJ rolled into town to take a cookery course, and settled just outside of town in a small but gorgeous house with his mother, setting up a café and hired Sierra on the weekends for her pastry skills.

The next and final incomer to the city was Trent, taking a break from his high-flying Rockstar career to get his law degree, moving into his own luxurious studio apartment, and he and Gwen lasted as friends for all of two weeks before they were back to making out and Trent writing songs about her again.

Noah found he spent a lot of his time with Cody, the two had been good friends for years, but living in the same city together just brought them even closer. Cody had began a music theory degree and Noah had chosen creative writing and history as his own. Even though Owen would always be Noah’s ultimate best friend, Cody was a close second. Over the years, they’d shared an odd kiss here and there, but nothing ever settled, not that Noah ever thought about it.

But sometimes, sitting in a café with Cody laughing with him, like he was now, made something in Noah’s chest burn pleasantly, his stomach flutter.

“Dude, are you even listening to me?” Cody waved a hand in front of Noah’s face.

“Huh?” Noah blinked at him. He’d been lost in his thoughts, distracted by the bags under Cody’s eyes.

“Hnn, thanks man.” Cody sighed sarcastically, sitting back and sipping at his coffee.

Noah took a moment to stare at Cody, really take in his appearance. He hadn’t seen Cody in a few weeks, Cody had been sick, and it looked like hadn’t quite recovered yet. His skin was pale and dry, his eyes sunken and he just seemed all around lethargic. He was wearing a hoodie that Noah knew hadn’t been that baggy before. A spike of worry rang through Noah, biting his lip, debating whether he should say something or not.

“Well, I was saying I finally did it.” Cody said again. “So yeah, now I’m a distance learning student as well as a jobless loser at this point.”

Noah knew what he was talking about. It was mid-December, they were each in their 3rd year of University and while Noah was striving, Cody was struggling to even get out of bed some days. He’d talked about taking a break from studying, the stress getting too much for him, and Noah had agreed that it was probably what he needed, before he ended up in hospital. It wasn’t something for him to be ashamed of, but Cody had still debated about the idea. Cody had lost his job at the start of the month from calling in sick too many times. Noah had taken him to out-of-hours for a fainting spell and Cody seemed to be running in circles, and Noah worried for his friend.

“You’ll be ok with it; online learning will be better for you right now.” Noah said gently, nudging Cody on the shoulder with his own.

Noah tried not to think too much of how stiff and bony Cody’s shoulder had felt against his own. Cody was practically the same height as he’d always been, standing in at a staggering 5ft6, his eyes large and the gap between his teeth still not fixed. Cody had went through a faze of dying his hair extravagant colours, but it seemed he’d reverted back to his chestnut brown, the style less curtain-y, more just soft fringe. Even with the pallid skin and purple tinge under his eyes, his jawline a bit too sharp, Cody still looked good. He was never going to look like a supermodel beefcake, but instead he’d really nailed down the cute boy-next- door look.

Noah on the other hand, had settled into University life in Toronto with ease. He’d matured since Total Drama, his hair slightly longer, scraping to his shoulders, which he often wore in a ponytail these days, and he’d lost his baby face. Noah’s stomach had softened, and his hips had widened more from too many student discounted takeaways and late-night snacking sessions, Owen’s habits rubbing off on him, but the few extra pounds didn’t bother Noah. He thought it suited him, looking less like a gangly teen and more like a studious young adult, and although he was not tall by Canadian standards, he had grown a few inches, all the way to 5ft9. He’d broken up with Emma only a few weeks after they’d began dating, confessing that he was actually gay, and had came out to his parents and he expressed his sexuality with pride.

The next time Noah got a chance to see Cody, it was a couple of days after New Year’s. He was awoken by his phone buzzing, and Noah groaned, rolling over in bed. He’d gotten back from visiting his family for Christmas in Vancouver the night before, and all he wanted to do was sleep.

He blinked at his phone screen, seeing Cody calling, and by the looks of his notifications, this was the 6th call in a row.

“Wassup?” Noah answered, his voice thick with sleep.

“Are you awake? Oh my fucking god, I’m sorry, I…shit…” Cody sounded panicky and erratic on the other edge.

“Are you ok?” Noah frowned, immediately worried for his friend.

“No.” Cody burst into tears. “Can I come over?” 

“Yeah, get here.” Noah jumped out of bed, heading for the shower.

Noah had just put on a fresh pot of coffee when the door buzzer went, and he let Cody in. Noah was still half asleep, the clock telling him it was still only 9 in the morning. Noah had the flat to himself, Owen and Izzy still on the West Coast.

“Hey.” Cody greeted him sadly when Noah let him in.

“Hey, want some coffee?” Noah offered, while Cody shrugged off his jacket.

“Sure.” Cody followed him through to the kitchen.

“The usual?” Noah asked, reaching for the creamer and sugar.

“Uh, no, just black is good.” Cody sat down at the table.

“Er, ok.” Noah was a bit confused; it wasn’t what Cody usually drank, but he’d noticed him drinking his coffee bitter and plain for a while now. “You gonna tell me what’s up?” Noah pressed, seeing Cody twitch at the table.

“I’ve got a week to find somewhere to live.” Cody was trying to hold back tears.

“What?” Noah handed him his drink, sitting down opposite.

“Our shitty landlord told us we had to leave by the end of the week. Apparently, our contract wasn’t even legal.” Cody wailed. “I don’t know what to do.” He put his head in his hands.

Noah rose, sliding into the chair beside Cody instead, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

“Hey,” Noah shushed as Cody began to cry, everything clearly too much at this point. “Have you guys found anywhere?”

“The girls have.” Cody hiccuped. “Gwen’s just going to move in with Trent officially, and DJ offered for Sierra to stay with him, even though they’ve only been dating a few weeks. There isn’t room for me at either of those places.”

Noah sat silent for a moment, rubbing soothing circles into Cody’s back. His heart hurt to see Cody like this. It didn’t look like he’d gotten better since December either, skinnier than ever, and looking downright sick at this point.

“Stay here.” Noah knew Cody would have no luck trying to find an apartment in January in a week and going back to his shitty parents was out of the question.

Cody didn’t answer, crying silently still.

“I mean it. This isn’t just me offering to be polite, you can’t stay in a fucking hotel for a month.” Noah persisted. Cody opened his mouth to protest and Noah cut him off with a finger to the others lips. “Don’t argue, you know it’s your best option.”

“I…I can’t ask you to do that.” Cody whispered, his eyes bug wide and shiny with tears. “I can’t take over your sofa, and what about Owen and Izzy? It’s their apartment too.”

“They’ll say the exact same thing as me, I know it.” Noah said. “Just…I’m really worried about you Cody, you’ve been stressed to breaking point for months, having to take a backseat on studying and losing your job, and honestly, you don’t look well.” He hoped that last point hadn’t hurt Cody too much.

Cody sniffled, wiping his nose with his sleeve, but he still didn’t say anything, ashamed.

“And I’m not trying to make you feel bad, I’m really not.” Noah continued, pulling Cody in close, putting his head on Noah’s shoulder. “You’re my friend, and I want you to be ok, so please, just stay here.” He murmured into Cody’s hair.

“I feel like your not going to give me a choice.” Cody half-laughed, voice still wavery.

“Nope. Pack your things.” Noah kissed his forehead, the casual affection common between them now. Cody relented and agreed, casting the first honest smile Noah had seen on his face in forever.

And that’s how it began, with Cody pulling bags of his belongings into Noah’s room on January the 4th, Izzy and Owen cooking up a welcome party feast for him in the kitchen, even though they’d only been home and informed of the situation 2 hours before.

“Thank you, Noah, you didn’t have to do this.” Cody mumbled as Noah helped him hang some clothes up in his closet.

“As if I’d let you go anywhere.” Noah bumped their shoulders together.

They’d never officially lived together before, especially in such close proximities, but they had spent time on an island and living in a plane for months at ends, many hotel rooms and camping trips over the years, even the month long road trip around Canada a couple of summers ago. They’d never had any problems, Cody had always had the same sort of habits as Noah on cleanliness and sleeping patterns, so he wasn’t too worried.

Eventually, the two made their way to the kitchen, Cody reluctantly chewing on some nachos while the four new flatmates poured cups of wine and played music, welcoming Cody to the apartment. Noah patted him on the knee under the table whenever Cody looked tense, and by the end of the night, they were all semi-drunk, giggly and comfortable in the living room.

When Noah went to bed that night, he lay awake for a while, hoping Cody was ok on the sofa. He’d given him every spare duvet and blanket he could find, and the sofa was rather large, plush cushions and space for Cody’s not so long legs, so hopefully he’d sleep well.

Noah had talked with him earlier, when it was just the two of them, about what Cody was going to do about his living situation. Cody had promised Noah he’d start looking for apartments the next day, but Noah had shut him down, half-begging Cody to wait a bit, sort himself out first. Cody hadn’t agreed, but he also hadn’t declined Noah’s offer to stay for as long as he needed, so there was some hope. There wasn’t rent to pay, but Cody had insisted on helping with bills and groceries. Owen and Izzy usually sorted themselves out, so he’d mostly be shopping with Noah. Truthfully, Noah would prefer him to live here as long as it took for Cody to get back to normal. 

\------------

THE MIGRATION FROM SOFA TO SNUGGLES

“Just let me know if you need any more blankets, sorry ‘bout the heating.” Noah said goodnight to Cody from his spot on the sofa and made his way to his room.

It was the fourth day of Cody living with them, and it had all been going quite swimmingly, Cody making himself at home. Noah found he liked just sitting at his computer, studying, with Cody curled up on his bed, doing his own work. They didn’t have to talk all the time, but there was just something comforting about having another person with him for most of the day. He spent a lot of time with Owen and Izzy, and even though Noah was an introverted person, a third friend in his space all the time felt relaxing, not intrusive.

The only problem was that earlier that morning a snow storm had fallen upon Toronto, one of the worst in years. The temperature was in the minus twenties, and Noah cursed not fixing the radiator properly in the living room. It worked sometimes, but if you had it on for more than an hour, it threatened to burst.

Immediately upon entering his bedroom, Noah was hit with a wave of warmth, his room cosy and inviting with the string lights and a bed piled with blankets and pillows. A pang of guilt rang through him, knowing just how chilly the living room was in comparison, hoping the mound of fuzzy blankets would be enough for Cody, or that he’d rethink Noah’s offer of swapping.

Noah sat up for over an hour, tucked in and reading a novel before he heard a faint knock on his door.

“Yeah?” It didn’t take a genius to guess that it would be Cody.

“Sorry to wake you.” Cody said, shuffling inside.

“Wasn’t asleep, it’s cool.” Noah lowered his book. He immediately felt bad again at the sight of Cody, wrapped in a blanket and still shivering, his nose red from the cold.

“Do you have any extra blankets? Sorry to be a bother.” He said through chattered teeth.

“Yeah, no worries.” Noah climbed out of bed, grabbing the faux fur one that lay atop his sheets, as well as a quilt his mother had made for him from his chair, handing them to the other boy. “You sure you’re ok in there?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about me.” Cody smiled shakily at him. “I’ve still got the hot water bottle too.” He said, as if that thing actually gave off much heat after an hour, and Noah hadn’t heard him in the kitchen redoing it.

“Alright…” Noah wasn’t going to push him. “Night.”

“Night.” Cody went back to the freezer known as the living room, and Noah climbed back into bed, not enjoying the warmth as much now.

Noah had dropped off to sleep as the storm raged on outside, but it was nearing 2am when he woke, feeling the call of nature.

Noah shoved a hoodie on and shivered, even though the heating was on the temperature had dropped even lower. Sleepily, he exited the room, not taking much notice of Cody as he made his way through the main room, trying not to bump into anything and wake the other. When he finished up, Noah was a tad more alert. He was almost back to his room when he heard a sneeze from the sofa. Noah stopped in his tracks before he stumbled back over to the couch, fully remembering that his friend was freezing up in here.

“Hey.” Noah crouched down near where some of Cody’s hair was sticking out, his head burrowed under the blankets.

“Hnn.” Cody reluctantly surfaced.

“Get up, you’re gonna get sick in here.” Noah shook him, trying to pull him out by his icy hands.

“I’m ok.” Cody protested.

“Uh-huh. And I’ve never read a book in my life. Up.” Noah began yanking at the blankets, trying to unwrap Cody. Cody mewled in pitiful defiance, attempting to pull them back. “Stop being a baby, I’m trying to stop you from catching hypothermia!” Noah growled.

“Fiiiiine, but just for tonight.” Cody sat up, stiff and chilled, and between the two of them, they bundled up most of the blankets and shuffled into Noah’s room.

Cody dropped his stash on the floor at the end of Noah’s bed, prodding at his pillows and arranging the blankets.

“What are you doing?” Noah looked at the other with a blank stare as Cody got down on his knees, after stealing the blankets from Noah’s arm.

“Making my bed?” Cody looked up at him with confusion.

“No, you idiot.” Noah pulled him to his feet, as well as some of the blankets he could grab with the other hand. “Just share my bed. What’s the big deal? We’ve had to share a bed before, and it’s never been a problem.”

“You sure? I feel like I’d be intruding.” Cody bit his lip, bringing Noah’s attention to the fact that they were almost blue.

“Yes, I’m sure. I wouldn’t offer if I felt weird about it.” Noah rolled his eyes, shoving him towards the bed. Sometimes Cody could be so stupid. “Now get in.” Noah pulled off his hoodie and tossed it to Cody. “Put that on. You need it more than I do.”

“Thanks.” Cody had it on in seconds over his own sweater and PJ’s, wrapping it tight and pulling the hood over his head before he wriggled under the sheets.

Noah couldn’t help but smile when Cody sighed at the warmth, sliding in beside him. The bed wasn’t massive, but it was large enough for the two to sleep without touching. Cody was still only a hand’s stretch away, and Noah could feel the icy chill still radiating from the other, as well as the chattering that could be heard from Cody’s teeth as he shivered. Noah waited, but it didn’t seem to be dying down.

“Don’t freak out, but you really need to warm up.” Noah took the risk, snuggling in closer and closing the distance between their bodies. This was all for heating him up, nothing else.

“Hnn?” Cody blinked sleepily at him.

Noah wrapped an arm around Cody, pressing his warmer body to the other. Cody melted into him, seeking the heat and wiggled in closer, his chilly legs pressed against Noah’s. Noah was glad that Cody seemed comfortable and ok with the touch, and Noah rubbed gently at Cody’s arms, trying to kickstart Cody’s body back into warming itself up. Cody had moulded himself against Noah from the neck to their toes, soaking in the excess warmth.

“G’night Noah. Thanks.” Cody murmured, his face in the crook between Noah’s neck and shoulder.

“Night C.” Noah followed suit, drifting off to sleep quicker than he’d expected.

~~~~

The next night was even colder.

Even Noah was shivering as they all huddled together on the sofa to watch shitty TV. Noah was pressed in the middle between Cody and Owen, Izzy curled up on Owen’s lap. For once, Noah was appreciative of Owen’s larger size and the heat that came from him. There was no awkward tension between himself and Cody after the night before, even when they’d awoken still in each other’s arms. Cody looked better than he had the night before, he hadn’t gotten sick, and that’s all Noah cared about.

When Owen and Izzy slunk off to bed, and Cody had went to brush his teeth, he returned and began setting up his fort on the sofa again, and Noah was quick to step in. Or, as quick as he could do in fluffy socks and a wooden floor.

“Don’t even start.”

“Why?” Cody looked exhausted; they’d all stayed up far too late.

“It’s the coldest night of the year so far, don’t be stupid.” Noah bundled up the blankets without asking and walked through to his room, Cody toddling behind him.

“I’m too cold to protest.” Cody yawned.

“Good.” Noah tossed the blankets back on the bed, then left the room to brush his teeth.

When he returned, Cody was already in bed, still wearing Noah’s hoodie from the night before. He looked the picture of comfort, curled up under the star string lights, a fluffy blanket curled around him, scrolling through something on his phone. Noah removed his comfortable socks, no matter how cold it was he couldn’t sleep in them, sliding in under the covers and almost snuggling up to Cody without thinking. The guy just looked so huggable right now.

“It’s freezing, eh?” Cody smirked when Noah moved an inch closer, turning his head to look at Noah over his shoulders.

“I think it’s just gonna get colder.” Noah agreed, switching off the lights as Cody locked his phone and lay down.

“Want me to move over a bit? There’s still room nearer the edge.” Cody said, his back to Noah.

“Nope.” Noah couldn’t help it, he’d slept so well the night before, and the hint of warmth coming from Cody was just _so_ inviting.

“Kay.” Cody shuffled back a little, a breath away from Noah. “Dude, you’re like a heater, that is so nice.” He purred.

“Yeah?” Noah took the initiative, looping an arm over Cody’s waist and pressing his chest firmly against Cody’s back, their legs intertwining in seconds.

“Thanks.” Cody mumbled, a hand on Noah’s wrist that was at his stomach.

“Night.” Noah was asleep in seconds.

~~~~

Their sleeping arrangement remained like that all week as the snow storm continued and Noah had never slept better. Cody had more energy to him, the bags under his eyes still present, but a touch less dark. Noah wasn’t used to sharing a bed with another person every night, but he quickly became accustomed to it, finding it the new normal to slide into bed with a dozy Cody already there, playing on his phone, or to be awoken by his alarm blaring to find Cody tangled up with him, using Noah’s chest as a pillow. It had only been a few days, but Noah felt like they’d been doing it forever, how naturally it came to both of them.

When the storm lessened, Noah didn’t say anything about moving Cody back to the sofa. Cody didn’t either and another week passed of snuggly bed-sharing. On the third week, as the January blues began to disappear, Cody finally spoke up as they did the dishes together one night.

“Don’t you want your bed back to yourself?” Cody handed Noah a sopping wet plate to dry, trying his best to sound casual.

“Uh, no it’s ok.” Noah faltered, unsure how to answer.

“You sure? I’ll be ok on the sofa. It’s not so cold now.” It was still well below freezing, but hey, they were Canadian.

“I mean, your stuffs already stored in my room, it saves you moving back and forward all the time, right?” Noah shrugged.

“Don’t you mind that I’m so clingy in my sleep?” Cody laughed nervously.

“No, it’s kinda nice to be honest.” Noah confessed. “Sorry, that probably sounds so weird.”

“No!” Cody grinned. “Yeah, it is pretty comfy. So roomie roomies? You can kick me out anytime, I’ll be cool with it.”

“Doubt that will happen, but deal.” Noah shot him a smile, being rewarded with Cody’s own softer smile.

And they came to an agreement, just like that. Owen and Izzy never commented on Cody’s lack of bed on the sofa, knowing full-well where he was each night. Noah’s room also officially became known also as Cody’s room too to every house member. And before Noah knew it, it was second nature to fall asleep beside Cody, something just felt so easy and right about it.

\------------

5 KISSES

“See you guys later, don’t burn the place down please.” Noah picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder, waiting for Owen to hurry up. It was him that was desperate to see this movie, not Noah.

“We can’t promise that!” Izzy said back with a wicked grin.

Noah glanced to Cody, expecting such an answer from her. Cody was still studying, his head in his textbook at the kitchen table, Izzy painting opposite him.

“We’ll behave.” Cody said around a mouthful of pen lid.

“See you in a while, don’t miss me too much!” Owen leant down towards Izzy, kissing her sweetly before heading to the doorway where Noah was waiting, tapping his foot with anticipation.

“Aw, bye cutie!” Izzy waved to the boys. “Hey where’s Cody’s kiss, that’s unfair!” She giggled.

“What?” Cody looked up from his books.

“Ah, but I can’t kiss Cody, that’s cheating!” Owen laughed along with his girlfriend.

“Who’s what?” Cody really hadn’t been paying attention.

The devilish side of Noah perked up at seeing a dumbstruck Cody, tempted to play around. He’d been hanging with Izzy too much it seemed, because Noah couldn’t resist pranking the other boy.

“I got a kiss goodbye; you should get one too!” Izzy was filling Cody in.

“It’s fine, I don’t ne-“ Cody was cut off by Noah leaning in from behind him, tilting Cody’s face up and kissing him lightly on the cheek.

“There.” Noah made his way back to the door where Owen was waiting, a stupid grin on his face at his best friend kissing their new roommate. “Let’s go before it gets to busy and I can’t be assed with it anymore.” He began shoving Owen out the door.

Noah shot a look over his shoulder to see that Cody was frozen in place, a blush that spread from his cheeks to his ears. Noah grinned at the other, to reassure him that it was just a joke, while Izzy howled with laughter from her seat.

“By…bye!” Cody stammered as the two guys left.

~~~~

A day later, Noah was going with Izzy to meet Eva for coffee. Owen and Cody were camped out on the sofa with the x-box going, surrounded by a mountain of snacks and blankets. Those two weren’t going anywhere.

“Bye cutie!” Izzy plonked herself down on Owen’s lap and gave him a long kiss goodbye.

“Need me to bring back anything?” Noah asked from his perch on the armrest beside Cody, pointedly ignoring the two making out nearby.

“Some redbull? If you don’t mind.” Cody asked.

Noah took the time to take in what he hadn’t noticed earlier while he had been getting ready. Cody was wearing Noah’s own baggy NASA hoodie, the sleeves hanging off his wrists. While it was oversized on Noah, it swamped Cody, and made him look incredibly cosy. It seemed that Noah’s closet had been raided again, not that he minded. In fact, there was something kinda cute about it, Cody walking around wearing his clothes. Whatever that meant.

“You shouldn’t be drinking that shit.” Noah chided, sounding like his mother.

“Like you can talk.” Cody smirked back at him. “Mr cola addict.”

“C’mon Noah!” Izzy had moved off of her boyfriends lap and was ready to go, bouncing with energy in her huge parka.

“No smoochy-smooch for Cody today?” Owen joked as Noah rose.

“Why do you word it like that?” Cody laughed.

Noah was in a light-hearted mood, happy to make a joke again, and prodded Cody in the shoulder to get his attention. Cody seemed to be expecting it this time, grinning up at Noah. Noah cupped Cody’s face gently and kissed each of Cody’s gaunt cheeks with fervour.

The four of them burst into laughter at Noah’s grand performance, Noah shrugging as he slipped on his jacket and followed out the door, finding a humongous smile still plastered to his face.

~~~~

A few days later, Noah was rushing around the flat like a maniac. He was late for class and he couldn’t find the stupid charger for his notebook laptop anywhere. He’d had it the day before when he’d been sitting in the living room, but he’d only taken the computer through the bedroom with him in the evening. Since then, Izzy or Owen must have tidied up the shared space, and he couldn’t find it anywhere.

“What’s up?” Cody had woken up at last, even though it was nearly noon, making his way to the kitchen, still clad in his pyjamas. Damn, Noah wished that was him today.

“My notebook charger, it’s gone!” Noah was pulling at his hair; his whole project was on that laptop which currently only had 4% charge. He knew Cody’s charger didn’t fit, so he couldn’t even borrow his.

“Oh crap.” Cody started awake, jumping into action and rummaging around in search alongside Noah.

Noah was becoming frantic; he was already late, and he hadn’t even left the house yet.

“Go and get your shoes and jacket on, I’ll keep looking. If not, I guess you can take my computer?” Cody offered, surrounded by the sofa cushions he’d thrown aside.

“Kay.” Noah knew he’d make do, thankfully the project wasn’t due today, it was just to work on it. He could catch up later. He followed Cody’s orders, hoping that Cody had more luck than him.

“What’s going on guys?” Owen was up now too. They’d all stayed up till nearly 4am playing video games together, and stupid Noah was the only one who actually had stuff to do the next day.

“Where the hell did Izzy put my charger?” Noah called out from the hallway when he heard Owen’s voice.

“Uhhh, no clue.” Owen yawned.

“Got it!” Cody interrupted the pair, springing up from under the coffee table, hitting his head on the wood in the process. “Ow. It was under the rug, under the coffee table. An ideal place.” He joked as Noah ran over to him, his shoes on but the laces still undone.

“Thank yoouuu!!” Noah praised, shoving the charger into his bag hastily, tying his laces speedily. “Gotta run. Catch you later.”

“See ya.” Owen waved and headed for the kitchen. “Breakfast time!”

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Cody stayed on the floor, grinning up at Noah with his head tilted and a cheeky tone to his voice.

Noah laughed heartily, up for the challenge. He bent down, holding the back of Cody’s bumped head gingerly and kissed him on the cheek, maybe for a second longer than the last two had been.

“Later.” He said with a smile, bolting out the door as Owen sauntered back into the room, catching the tail end of the little kissing scene.

“Did he just kiss you again?!”

~~~~

“Butter…milk…urgh what is that?” Noah sniffed the bowl of questionable meat he’d seen sitting on Izzy’s shelf, before tossing it back into the fridge. “What else do we need Cody?”

Noah was off for a super fun adventure to the grocery store while Cody and Gwen stayed in the warmth, sitting at the kitchen table and pouring over their notes.

“We’re almost out of garlic and paprika, if you feel like getting any.”

“Got it.” Noah scribbled it onto his list, pocketing the paper.

“Thanks.” Cody looked away from his books to beam at him, as Noah wrapped his scarf up tightly. “Don’t freeze.” Cody commented.

Gwen watched the two boys in front of her fussing about the snow and grocery lists, smirking at the ease that they’d slipped into domesticity, like it was had been completely natural for the pair of them.

“Catch you later. See you Gwen.” Gwen waved a goodbye at the other, but she hadn’t expected Noah to come back over to their table, lean down against the back of Cody’s chair and kiss Cody quickly on the cheek as if it was an everyday occurrence.

Cody didn’t seem fazed by the gesture, like he was used to it, his eyes still on his sticky notes, but clapping Noah lightly on the arm as he moved away.

What the hell had Gwen missed?

“Bye!” Cody called out to Noah as he headed out the door. Eventually the gap-toothed boy looked up from the table to see Gwen smirking at him.

“What?” He blanched.

“Oh, nothing.” Gwen smiled sweetly at him. “Just wondering if I missed something, that’s all.”

“No.” Cody blushed crimson, chewing nervously on his pen. “It’s only a joke we started up.” He defended, knowing exactly what Gwen was teasing him about.

“Right.” Gwen raised her eyebrows, unconvinced, but she let it go.

~~~~

The fifth time was a little different.

It was only a couple of days after Gwen’s visit, when Noah was going out, leaving Cody home alone, yet again. He felt bad for ditching him, but he had promised to cover the shift at the library that night. By now, the joke should have worn off, so Noah didn’t try anything.

“See you later, you can watch without me. I’ll catch up when I get home.” Noah knew Cody was waiting with anticipation to watch the newest Walking Dead episode. They usually all watched together, but it would be cruel to make Cody wait another 8 hours just for Noah to come home and no doubt fall asleep on the sofa 5 minutes in.

“’Kay.” Cody stretched and moved off of the bed, following Noah out of the bedroom, draped in a blanket cloak.

Noah didn’t think anything of it, Cody was probably heading to the living room or kitchen anyway, fuzzy fake fur and all. Noah made his way to the nook at the door, slipping on his boots and jacket. Cody had stopped in the doorway between the living room and the hallway, near Noah but facing away from him, chatting to Owen about something that Noah wasn’t paying attention to.

“Bye!” Noah called out to the other two flatmates, unchaining the door before he felt a tug on his shoulder.

Noah turned to see a blanketed Cody blinking up at him and Noah understood what he was after, even if it was unsaid at this point. But before he could do the usual, Cody stepped even closer and pecked Noah lightly on the cheek, just under his eye.

“See ya, have a good shift!” Cody made his way back to the sofa, and Noah left for work with a cheesy grin on his face.

From that day on, the kiss on the cheek goodbye stopped being a joke and emerged into a habit for the both of them. Noah got used to running out the door, but not before placing a quick peck to Cody’s cheek or nose before he left or feeling Cody’s lip press against his forehead or somewhere else on his face, always there to see him go. Unless he was asleep, then Noah would still kiss him goodbye quickly, seeing Cody smile softly in his sleep.

\------------

CLOTHES SHARING

One thing that Noah hadn’t considered when sharing a room and storage space with another guy was how easy it became to mix their clothes up.

If Noah was half-asleep and on his way to the coffee maker in the morning, he would often mistakenly slip on a pair of Cody’s sweatpants laying beside his on the floor, or the first hoodie he saw, only realising the mix up when he would feel the waistband dig into his stomach or the hem slip up when he stretched. He didn’t wear Cody’s clothes out in public unless he could help it, finding them too tight to be comfortable. Oh the days when he had been a string bean.

Cody certainly got the better end of the stick with the clothes snagging extravaganza. Noah’s clothes fitted him a hell of a lot better than his did with Noah. Seeing Cody making himself cosy and comfortable in one of Noah’s sweaters was a daily occurrence. Cody feigned innocence half the time, but Noah suspected that Cody was well aware of his ‘accidental’ mishaps, usually sneakily wearing at least one piece of Noah’s clothing a day, whether it was a shirt, sweater or even just one of his hats.

Noah didn’t mind in the least.

In fact, if he was being honest with himself, Noah really liked it, for reasons he couldn’t describe. There was just something so cute about climbing into bed and seeing Cody curled up, half over Noah’s side and wrapped up in one of his hoodies.

Or they’d be out grocery shopping, and Cody would be jumping on the end of the cart like a kid, one of Noah’s jackets hanging off of him, his sleeves flapping around while he energetically told some weird story about cheese to Noah.

Noah was sat on the sofa one afternoon, slouched on the cushions with his feet dangling over the edge of the armrest, watching MasterChef and judging the contestants as if he actually cooked enough to comment.

“Nice socks.”

Izzy had entered, prodding at the balls of his feet as she walked by and flopped into the loveseat. Noah looked at said gaudy socks, bright green with pizza and weed leaves on them.

“I think they’re Cody’s.” He said, eyes moving from the screen to Izzy.

“Tell him I want a pair.” Izzy laughed, and Noah noticed that she was wearing nothing but a pair of tiny PJ shorts and one of Owen’s massive baseball shirts. He’d seen her in less clothing, so the bare legs didn’t faze him, it was more the nagging itch in his brain that came with it, like it was reminding him of something, but he couldn’t remember what.

“Ask Cody where he got them from then.”

The two lapsed into silence until Owen and Cody came home, red from the cold. Cody waved jitterily as he went to the bedroom, unwinding the snow-sopped scarf as he went by.

“Cute outfit Izzy!” Owen kissed Izzy quickly, making her shiver and giggle before he headed to shower and change.

Cody beat Owen to the shower, surfacing after a few minutes, towelling his hair dry and Noah did a double take at his clothing choice.

Cody was wearing his usual pacman PJ shorts and a pair of fuzzy novelty Christmas socks that Noah had seen a million times before. That wasn’t what had thrown him.

What had made Noah’s brain short circuit was the view of Cody wearing Noah’s own oversized hockey jersey. It hung off of him, not that it was exactly tight-fitting on Noah either, but it just made Cody look tinier than ever, and so sickeningly cute. Cody didn’t notice anything off with Noah, sliding in at the other side of the sofa and stealing half of Noah’s blanket.

And Noah got it now, it had all just clicked into place.

Why he always felt something flutter in his chest when he saw Cody wearing his clothes.

He was wearing an almost identical outfit as Izzy; the shirt just came from a different sport. Izzy often wore Owen’s clothes, and why shouldn’t she? They were comfy and roomy for her, and she was his girlfriend, it’s what they do. That was normal.

Between friends, Noah wasn’t so sure. He couldn’t think of a time he’d ever worn Owen’s clothes just for the hell of it, the few times he had had been an emergency or an accident.

But seeing Cody roam around in half of Noah’s wardrobe did something to him. It made Cody look like he was _his._ Wearing Noah’s clothes was like a silent signal to the world that he was Noah’s, whether that was true or not. Noah wasn’t possessive, he would never make a boyfriend parade around in his shirts just to make a statement. It just made something churn in his stomach that this was Cody willingly choosing to wear them.

“You ok?” Cody had noticed Noah’s expression and the fact that he hadn’t said anything to the other yet.

“Yeah.” Noah didn’t mean to sound breathless, he probably sounded so stupid right now. “Just wondering where you dug that jersey out from. I haven’t seen it in ages.” It wasn’t like Noah was a hockey fanatic and wore it daily.

Cody pulled at the collar. “Is it ok? Wearing it?” He seemed unsure. “Sorry, I should have asked, I can go find one of my own sweaters.”

Noah prodded Cody in the thigh with his foot to ease his worry. “You don’t have to ask to wear my shit.” Noah reassured him. “I’ve got enough to share. Anyway, I’m wearing your socks so it’s fair game.” Cody lifted the blanket, smiling at Noah’s colourful feet.

“Hey, are you a converted Canuk fan?” Owen had come in and sat himself with Izzy. “Is it yours?”

“Nah, it’s Noah’s.” Cody replied lazily, toying with the sleeves. “Big and cosy though, what I need after that blizzard!”

“Haha true!” Owen laughed, not noticing Noah trying to hide his Cheshire sized grin behind his hand.

\------------

STARBUCKS BREAK ROOM GOSSIP

Cody got a new job by mid-February, taking on two or three shifts a week at the Starbucks that Gwen worked at.

It didn’t take long for him to settle in, he already knew half the people there, or they’d heard of him at least. The team was a tight-knit group of students and young adults, and mostly everybody was friends with each other. Of course when Cody started, they wanted to know everything about him. One girl had even been a fangirl of his when she was a teenager.

“So, you used to live with Gwen, are you staying with her and Trent?” Joanne, a perky young mom asked him during shift one day.

“Nah, they just have a studio apartment, too small!” Cody laughed, focusing on the milk steaming. He had three minutes to go until his shift was over, and he couldn’t wait to get home and nap. “I live with three other people.”

“Oh nice.” She didn’t say much else, until a frazzled guy came into the store, catching her attention. “Oh my god, Cody, check this cutie.” She whispered as she watched him head to the till.

“Uh…” The dude took a moment to scan the menu, casting a glance to Cody and Joanne on bar. “I’ll take a grande caramel macchiato.” He swiped his card, stepping to the side.

“He is really cute; did you see him looking at you? Look, he even has a Star Wars rebel badge on his bag, must have good taste.” Joanne nudged Cody as they continued making drinks, playing around. Cody didn’t answer, but she noticed the cheeky smile plastered on his face. She could tell he was looking at the customer too. “Oh, that’s you finished hon.” Cody handed off a drink to some loud teenager, then said his goodbyes, heading round the back to get his jacket and clock out.

Joanne kept her eye on the tanned man standing at the end of the bar, looking at his phone. She and her partner had split months ago, and he was just her type. Long hair, geeky merch on display, gorgeous eyes and a well fitted, fashionable coat. She looked away for a moment, and when she returned her gaze, she did a double take at Cody making his way over to the handsome stranger. That kid had guts, she admitted, going and chatting to the cute guy immediately.

“Hey, I’m not late, am I?” Joanne froze as the gent spoke to Cody, looking up from his phone.

“Nah. Just finished.” Cody grinned at him. “Are we still going to the movies?”

“Yeah, if you’re not too dead.” The guy smiled at Cody so sweetly, Joanne almost forgot to move the cup under the shots pourer on time.

“Cool!” Cody laughed, all up in the guys space, their arms touching, and Joanne realised he clearly knew the guy, and that he’d been waiting for Cody.

Oh.

_Ohhhhhhh._

Cody must have picked up on her awkwardness, speaking to her over the coffee machine.

“Hey Joanne, this is Noah.” He introduced them to each other. “Noah, this is my awesome supervisor, Joanne.”

“Hey, hope he’s not been too much trouble.” The pretty man, _Noah,_ said to her.

“Uh, no!” Joanne squeaked. “He’s an angel, really!”

“She’s just being nice; I spilt the whole tub of mocha over her earlier by accident.” Cody giggled.

“Mean.” Noah smiled softly at Cody, tapping him lightly on the nose.

Joanne felt like she was intruding on something. Clearly Cody was close with this guy, and by the way he was so touchy with him, she was gonna assume they were dating. He had said about living with new people. God, she felt stupid, saying that Noah was hot. Hopefully, Cody wouldn’t mind. She gave Noah his drink, waving goodbye to the newbie and his friend? as they left the store.

Joanne shoved her face in her hands, her cheeks beet red.

“What’s up?” Gwen had came back from her break.

“I just met Noah.” Joanne groaned.

“Oh, Cody’s Noah?” Gwen didn’t sound fazed.

_Cody’s Noah._

Yep she’d been right, totally dating.

“Mhmm.”

“Then what’s up? Did he say something weird; he can be so sarcastic sometimes.” Gwen put her hands on her hips, tutting about her friend.

“Nooo.” Joanne moaned. “I didn’t know who he was, and when he was in line, I said to Cody how hot the guy was.”

Gwen began to laugh, clutching her stomach as Joanne cringed even harder. “Don’t worry about it. Noah’s smart, but also incredibly dense when it comes to people, so I doubt he even noticed.”

“I’m more embarrassed that I said that to Cody.”

Gwen waved a hand, shooing off Joanne’s worries. “Cody won’t mind, he knows Noah’s cute, so he’ll probably just agree with you.”

“He won’t be pissed that I called his man cute?” Joanne was still concerned.

Gwen looked at her funny for a moment, like she’d said something off, and the pit of dread sank back into Joanne’s stomach. “Nah, he’s not the jealous type, don’t worry.” Gwen smiled at her eventually.

~~~~

One girl, Michelle, was pleased to see Cody start working with them. She’d seen him come in with Gwen plenty of times before, and at first, she was sad that he was her boyfriend, but she quickly found out they were just roommates.

Michelle found herself closing the store with Cody and Joanne two weeks into his new start. She’d had a bit of a crush on him for a while and getting to know him had only fuelled that feeling. His jokes were to her taste, he didn’t bad-mouth anybody, and she was so happy when Joanne made her and Cody work bar together, the small space making them have to work in close proximity and there were constant accidental touches between the two.

“Oh, I can reach it!” Cody stretched up to grab another carton of frap base for her, this stupid store putting vital ingredients in the high cupboards above her, unpractical when half the staff were 5ft3 at best.

He had his back to her, and Michelle couldn’t resist sneaking a glance as his shirt slid up when he stretched, revealing a slip of skin and the waistband of his boxers, his jeans slung low on his hips.

“Here you go!” Cody turned, not catching her gawping at him, handing the box to her with a cheesy grin.

“Thanks!” She beamed at him.

The rest of the shift passed in a bliss for Michelle, Cody laughing with her at everything, his arm brushing against hers more than once.

The store was locked, and they finished up the last few tasks while Joanne counted the tills. They retrieved their coats and bags, and Michelle was waiting for the best moment to ask Cody if he wanted to go for a drink, preferably when Joanne had already left for her car.

When they got out the store, Michelle didn’t think anything of the young guy leaning against the wall nearby. It was a common meeting place, being right on the corner of the street, with lots of bars and restaurants nearby. He seemed normal enough, headphones in and looking at his phone, not some creeper ready to mug them.

“Hey, Cody…” Michelle began, her voice dimmed out by the traffic and noise of the street, the Friday night loud with people heading for the bars all around.

“Noah!” Cody didn’t hear her, shouting and waving dramatically to the dude that had been at the wall, who was now walking towards them.

Joanne payed them no mind as she checked the alarm, and Michelle watched the man wave back to Cody, clearly he had been waiting for him. Guess she’d ask him out another night, it would be a bit awkward with his friend here.

“Hey.” Michelle couldn’t help but notice that Noah’s voice was deep and silky when he spoke, pleasant to her ears.

“Hey Noah.” Joanne pocketed the keys, smiling at the new guy. Did everybody know him?

“Hey Joanne.” He greeted her. Now that Michelle thought about it, she had heard Cody saying that one of his roommates had been writing a poem for his girlfriend that morning, before he’d left. Michelle hoped this was him. “How was the shift?”

“Urgh, don’t get me started.” Joanne groaned.

“A school bus and about 40 Frappuccino’s in 20 minutes.” Cody told his friend, bouncing around. “Michelle here handled it like a pro.” He pointed to her with pride, making her blush.

“Well…” She preened, enjoying the fact that Cody was complimenting her.

“I have no idea how anyone can handle that.” Noah smiled easily at Michelle. “Are you cold by any chance?” He laughed at Cody hopping about in front of Noah, his hands in his pockets, shivering. “Here.” Noah grabbed a hold of the hyper boy, pulling him in close to him, Cody snuggling into the other with a content smile.

Michelle was stunned. Guess this wasn’t the roommate with the girlfriend after all. Cody leaned against Noah, unwinding and stealing his scarf.

“Do you two need a lift?” Joanne asked, she always did.

“Nah, we’re good. Gotta go shopping.” Cody said, snug against Noah.

“Michelle?” Joanne turned to her.

“Uh…” she couldn’t find her voice. “Yeah, that’d be great thanks.” She smiled weakly.

“C’mon then, it’s freezing.” Joanne ushered her along the path. “See you later guys!” She called to Cody and Noah, who were heading in the other direction.

Cody waved back with a shivery grin, before walking on with his arms wrapped around Noah’s waist, Noah’s arm slung over his shoulder.

“You ok girlie?” Joanne probed as they got into her car.

“Yeah…” Michelle had only moved to the city a few months ago, and there were some things she was still getting used to. Her crush having a boyfriend was certainly not something she’d predicted.

“You weren’t expecting Noah there were you?” Joanne smirked as they pulled out of the spot, being able to read Michelle’s expression like it was an open book.

“No aha.” Michelle admitted.

“Cody had said earlier that Noah was waiting outside, if you’d been paying attention instead of staring at his ass.”

“I wasn’t!” Michelle blushed scarlet. “Ok…maybe I was, but I must have just missed it when he said that.” Michelle was an easy-going person, her disappointment evident to the older girl.

“Don’t worry, I had a similar embarrassing experience last week too. Crushing on Cody can’t be as cringy as accidentally telling him that you think his boyfriend is hot!” Joanne laughed.

 _‘Oh, boyfriend.’_ Michelle slunk down into her seat, Joanne’s remark cementing her fear, as she listened to Joanne tell her about their shift the other day, and how she had thought Noah was cute.

“Don’t worry about it.” Joanne reassured the country girl. “You’ll find another guy in no time, one that’s actually single!” She joked, making Michelle smile.

~~~~

Another colleague, Daniel, was the third to meet Noah.

He liked his teammates, but he was a quiet guy, and usually just let them get on with their chattering, while he made the drinks. The new guy, Cody, was on till, with Daniel and Gwen on bar. There was a steady flow of drinks, and whenever there was a break on till, Cody and Gwen resumed their conversation about some guy called Noah that Daniel didn’t know or care about.

“Yeah, like we were at the mall for hours!” Cody groaned.

“I wouldn’t have thought Noah as the type to be so picky, I always figured he’d be the sort of guy to just buy the first thing he saw in Target then leave.” Gwen laughed.

Hey, Daniel did that! Don’t knock the time-saving techniques Gwen.

“I know right! Oh one second.” Cody served a middle-aged woman then continued his rant. “But no, he was so fussy.” He switched his tone to something deep and sarcastic. “’No Cody, I’m not wearing that colour, those pants are way too baggy, why are the pockets there, I hate that design’” Gwen laughed at his imitation.

“So did he get any jeans at all?” Gwen queried.

“Yeah, eventually.” Cody sighed with exasperation. “I think they look fine, he got a pair of slim fit ones, and I convinced him to buy a pair of blue skinny jeans too. I think he’s being paranoid and too self-conscious over nothing.”

“You got Noah in a pair of skinny jeans? Sound the alarm!” Gwen giggled. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him wear anything tight fitting.”

“Exactly! But he bought them, and Gwen, I am a simple man, when I see a hot ass and great thighs in skinny jeans, it just does something to my heart. It’s for the good of the world that he has to wear them.”

“I wanna see, I’m curious now!”

Daniel wasn’t. He didn’t care about some guy Cody was probably sleeping with and his ass.

“He’s coming in in like 5 minutes, and I got him to wear them today, so you will get your wish Gwen! He was still fussing about if he looks good in them this morning, so you better not say anything mean.” Cody pointed a finger at her.

“I won’t, I promise!”

Daniel ignored them some more, noticing an Indian guy chat a little with Cody at the till for a moment, nothing spectacular. Gwen passed him a cup to make, and Daniel picked it up, pulling a face at what Cody had written. Scrawled over the cup was “ _Noah_ ” in his swirly writing, followed by “ _And his hot ass_.” Around the writing was a clusterfuck of hearts and winking smiley faces. Urgh. Cody signed off the till and Michelle took over, letting Cody clock out.

Daniel made the drink for Noah and his ‘hot ass’, while Gwen chatted with the Indian boy, who Daniel assumed must have been the guy they had been talking about. He could see Gwen trying to sneak a peak at his jeans, but the row of syrup bottles and coffee machines were blocking her view.

“Noah, white hot chocolate.” Daniel handed the drink off in a bored tone.

“Thanks.” Noah sounded as stale as Daniel, taking the cup then slapping himself in the face. “Gwen, what the hell did Cody write this on my cup for?” He moaned, holding up the inky monstrosity for Gwen to see. 

“He thinks your ass is nice Noah, just accept it.” Gwen smirked at the boy.

Cody bounded out round to the customer side of the bar, dressed regularly again and practically pounced on Noah. “Hey!” He greeted.

“Don’t write weird stuff on my cup.” Noah chided immediately, turning to face Cody.

Daniel had a better view than Gwen, casting a glance at the other guys legs. Tight fitted jeans and curved legs, a not completely flat ass. Whatever, Daniel didn’t get the hype. Then again, he was straight, so what did he care?

“Just making a point, so you know how good you look in them.” Cody smiled at him sweetly, a hand pressing against Noah’s upper thighs. Noah rolled his eyes at the energetic boy, but Daniel saw him blush, not pushing Cody’s touch off of him. “Gwen, don’t you think so?” He asked the goth girl.

“From what I can see here, yep, looking good Noah.” Gwen was leaning half way over the bar to peek. “Nice booty.”

“You sound like Leshawna.” Noah replied, but looked secretly pleased, letting Cody slip his hand into the back pocket of Noah’s jeans. “You’re both so weird.”

“Nope, I just have good taste in helping you pick clothes.” Cody stuck his tongue out at Noah, and it didn’t take a genius for Daniel to work out that they were clearly dating. “Let’s go home. See you guys!” Cody waved to the two at the bar, Gwen saying her goodbyes.

“See you.” Daniel mumbled, getting a smile from Cody as he followed Noah out the exit, his hand still snug in Noah’s back pocket.

“They’re so funny sometimes.” Gwen said, mostly to herself.

“Even you and Trent aren’t that PDA.” Daniel commented.

Gwen began to laugh at his remark. “True! Oh I am so telling Cody that next time I see him.”

“Guess they’re just a really happy couple.” Daniel replied. He didn’t really care, but it was nice for Cody, he guessed. And Noah looked pretty content with Cody’s doting too.

“For sure.” Gwen said, a sly grin on her face.

~~~~

Over the next month, the rest of the team at Starbucks all got used to seeing Noah around often. They already had Trent in every now and then, as well as other team members partners, so Noah just became another ‘in’ member who got discounted drinks and snacks.

Gwen never corrected anyone when they called Noah Cody’s boyfriend, and by chance, Cody just hadn’t noticed yet. Gwen thought the whole thing was hilarious, and when Cody did find out, she hoped that it would make him think that hmmm, maybe they should date?

Cody had finished his shift at 11am, and Noah had promised to come meet him at the store soon, and then they would go to the comic store together. So Cody sat at one of the tables in the café, scrolling through his phone, waiting patiently for his friend. 11.30 came and went, and Cody had sent a few texts checking that Noah was still coming. He got a short reply saying yes, so Cody waited some more. They’d both been up most of the night before studying, and Cody had only slept about an hour, and Noah must have slept all morning, missing his alarm.

Cody rested his face in his arms, making a pillow for himself out of his bag on the table in front of him. His eyes felt heavy, and without meaning to, he drifted off to sleep, even with the chatter and clanging from milk jugs and blenders going on around him.

Gwen saw that it was 12pm when Noah bolted into the café, his hair loose and messy, his clothes crumpled, like he’d just rolled out of bed. He cast a glance around the floor, but Cody had tucked himself into one of the booths right at the back, out of sight. Noah made his way to the till, checking that Cody was still here, and the goth girl pointed him in the right direction, which he sped towards, Joanne sitting at a nearby table on her break, giving him a wave.

Gwen went to bus the tables, picking up plates and cups, sneaking a chat with Joanne. They were facing the booth, seeing Noah ease in beside Cody, poking him lightly on the cheek. Cody burrowed his face in his arms further, turning his head away, too sleepy. Joanne and Gwen shared a smile when Noah persisted, running his fingers through Cody’s hair and whispering something in his ear that they couldn’t hear. Cody blinked awake, sitting up and leaning back against the padding, Noah’s arm still slung over his shoulders.

“They are too cute.” Joanne commented, watching Noah mutter something to Cody, which made her colleague laugh lightly, the two boys eyes meeting and making them both smile.

“I know right.” Gwen agreed.

“I want a boyfriend that looks at me like that.” Joanne felt her heart churn at the soft, gentle smile Noah had for Cody, like the gap-toothed boy was his everything. He probably was.

The two guys rose from the booth, Cody stretching and following Noah through the maze of tables. Cody stopped to say goodbye to Gwen and Joanne, still yawning.

“Get him home and to bed, he looks ready to drop.” Joanne chided Noah.

“Will do.” Noah nodded, smirking at Cody.

“Comic store first.” Cody bumped against him.

“Your boyfriend buying you something nice? Lucky!” Joanne laughed.

Cody laughed nervously alongside her, sharing a glance with Noah, who looked perplexed.

“Uhm, we’re not together Joanne. Noah’s my roommate.” Cody said.

That was news to her. Suddenly Gwen looked busy, wiping the table.

“Wait, what?” Joanne didn’t understand. She knew they shared a bed, even Cody had said that at one point.

“We’re friends.” Noah replied. “Did you think we were dating?” He didn’t seem offended at least. Why should he be?

“Uh…” Joanne faltered. “Yeah, we all did.” She admitted.

“Oh!” Cody began to laugh again. “That explains a lot!”

“But Gwen said you two were a thing.” Joanne looked to the other girl.

“Hmm, yeah I did.” Gwen confessed. “Maybe you guys should think about that huh, why everyone thinks you two are dating.”

“They think that because you tell people we are.” Noah crossed his arms.

“They thought it before I even said anything.” Gwen shot back.

“I’m sorry guys!” Joanne interrupted, hoping she hadn’t embarrassed them too much, or made things awkward between them. She didn’t want to be the cause of any discomfort between the pair, clearly they were very comfortable and happy with what they had going.

“No harm!” Cody laughed it off, unfazed. Noah didn’t seem too fussed either, although he did seem a little distant, like he was thinking on what Gwen had said. “Anyway, Hawkeye awaits!” Cody cheered, steering Noah out the door quickly.

Joanne sat there, dumbfounded at the news.

“I really thought they were together.” She said in awe.

“I can see why.” Gwen said back.

“Don’t they see it themselves? They literally act like a married couple.”

“I’ve been trying to tell them that for years. Anyway, work.” Gwen waved it off, returning to the back.

\------------

THE VALENTINES DATE

Noah had never felt all the hype that surrounded Valentine’s day. He’d even had a boyfriend at the time last year, but Noah had been more interesting in finishing up his paper that was due the next day than going on some overpriced, forced date. But maybe that had just said more about him and that relationship itself than anything to do with the day filled with love.

But Noah lived in a flat with the most lovestruck couple this side of town and a guy that cried when he saw old people holding hands, so it was hard not to get swarmed up in the festivities. He came home to Izzy and Cody dipping strawberries in chocolate a week before the day, letting the pair use him as a taste tester for which chocolate or toppings tasted the best. Nearly every day he would see Owen staring at the TV with big googly eyes, fixed on some romantic drama or romcom.

But as the day itself drew closer, Noah’s patience began to wear thin. There had been one too many awkward accidental walk-ins’ on Owen and Izzy getting it on in the living room, making Noah flee to his room, screaming about respecting the other flatmates. Like, c’mon, they had their own bedroom!

The stores were packed with hearts, chocolates and fuzzy bears, crappy love songs blaring and making Noah’s head hurt. But worst of all, he hated the dreaded questions he was getting frequently from classmates or colleagues.

_“So, who are you spending Valentine’s day with?”_

_“Got a special someone this year?”_

_“What’s your plans for the 14 th? Who’s gonna be the lucky guy?”_

And each time, he had to groan and say no one.

So yeah, he was getting pretty fed up with this shit.

On the 13th, Noah came home to an Ozzy free house and a pissed-off looking Cody, sulking on the sofa with his head leaning on the armrest.

“What’s up with you?” Noah joined him, purposely landing heavily on the cushion beside Cody, trying to make him bounce.

“Nothing.” Cody said through gritted teeth, his eyes locked on the TV.

Noah noticed it was a horror movie he was watching. How festive. “Right.” Noah rolled his eyes. “What happened, seriously?” He knew Cody had been at work this morning, maybe someone had said something there?

“Nothing happened, that’s the problem.” Cody replied.

“I don’t get what you mean.”

Cody shrugged. “Just. I actually really like Valentine’s day, and getting to feel special for once, even if it’s just for one stupid day. But yeah, I’m alone, yet again. Every year. Kinda just bringing me down a bit today, I don’t know.” He’d slumped down even further into the cushions as he rambled.

“Did you ask somebody out or something?”

“No, like I didn’t have anybody in mind,” Cody waved with one hand lazily. “I’m just whining, don’t listen.” Cody sounded bored with the situation.

“Oh.”

Noah was unsure what to say. He didn’t want Cody to feel awful about himself, like there was something wrong with him for not having a date for some stupid hallmark holiday. Noah wanted to cheer him up, whatever his own feelings on the day was.

“What are you doing tomorrow?” Noah blurted out.

“I already told you, nothing.” Cody said bitterly.

“Me neither.” When Noah didn’t get a response from Cody, he persisted. “So do you want to hang out tomorrow? We still haven’t gone to that glow in the dark mini golf place you said about.”

“Putting Edge?” Cody had perked up, his expression quizzical, trying to work out what Noah was doing.

“Yeah, that one with the arcade. Get some ice cream too or whatever. Just because we’re single doesn’t mean we have to miss out on a fun day too.”

“I mean, the day is made for couples, not single dudes who just don’t want to be cooped up in an apartment.” Cody teased.

“Whatever.” Noah rolled his eyes. “So, wanna go or not?”

“Why, Mr Noah, are you asking me out on a date?” Cody played around, fanning himself dramatically. “What will mother say?” He joked, sounding like some maiden in a period drama.

“It’s not a date.” Noah felt his face heat up. He was just trying to do something nice for Cody, not woo him. Or at least that’s the story he was sticking with.

“Sounds like one.” Cody grinned at him, the gap in his teeth showing.

“Fine, don’t come then.” Noah was embarrassed for putting himself on the spot, then for Cody to turn around and just laugh at him.

“Hey, hey no!” Cody batted him on the arm. “I wanna go.” Noah tried to stifle a smile at that. “Let’s go on our own, way cooler date!”

“Still not a date.” Noah was secretly pleased with himself for succeeding in cheering Cody up so quickly, and that Cody seemed so eager to spend Valentine’s day with him. Maybe he was just that desperate.

“Let me live out my dream Noah.” Cody patted him on the cheek playfully, then flopped his head down onto Noah’s lap, his attention back on the movie.

Guess they were going on a date then.

~~~~

Noah and Cody awoke late the next morning to the smell of something burning.

“Izzy, you can’t flambe!”

Great. The kitchen was probably on fire. Again.

Noah extracted himself from Cody’s koala grip, getting up and wandering through to the source of the smoky smell, Cody shuffling out of bed and following after him, yawning.

“Oh good, I was about to come wake you two up!” Izzy had been forced away from the hob, playing with a can of whipped cream and a bottle of chocolate sauce at the table.

“Breakfast!” Owen announced.

“What are we having, coal and ash?” Noah snipped, sitting down anyway.

Cody flopped down in the seat next to him, and immediately dropped his head and arms to the table, still mostly asleep. Noah couldn’t resist toying with the tufts of hair that had knotted in his sleep.

“Pancakes, Noah! Heart pancakes!” Owen ignored Noah’s jibe, making quick work of the batter that Izzy hadn’t ruined. “Oh I love Valentine’s day; aren’t you guys excited?”

“I’m gonna make out with you so hard.” Izzy cackled.

“Whatever.” Noah gagged at the smoochy faces the other two were giving each other. Maybe he should just get breakfast on the go today.

“I’m excited.” Cody chirped up from his face on the table.

“Have you got a date?” Izzy asked him.

Oh right, they hadn’t told the other two they were going out together today.

“Something like that.” Cody smirked, sneaking a glance to Noah.

Not as sneaky as he had thought, as Izzy’s grin widened. “Are you guys going together?!”

“Ohhhh you are?!” Owen sounded like an excited mother, dropping three massive plates of steaming pancakes on the table, before carrying over his own and sitting opposite Noah.

Noah didn’t answer, grabbing his toppings before Owen could get to them, kicking Cody under the table to sit up.

Cody didn’t take the hint, still face down. “Why should two single dudes have to miss out on a holiday?” He mimicked what Noah had said the night before. Cody had been right, that was a half-baked excuse if Noah had ever heard one.

“Riiight.” Izzy raised her eyebrows at them, smirking at Noah. Noah ignored her and her suggestive tone.

“Where are you going? Maybe we can double date!” Owen squealed.

“No.” Noah said as Cody told them about Putting Edge. “It’s not a date anyway.” Noah affirmed.

Cody sat up, eyes bleary and his cheek red from where it had been pressed into the wood. He shot Noah a look that Noah couldn’t quite decipher what it meant when he’d said that, almost disappointment. Owen and Izzy felt the same, looking at Noah with exasperated pity.

“Your pancakes are getting cold.” Noah looked away from the other, he couldn’t stand those puppy dog eyes right now, making him feel guilty.

_It wasn’t a date!_

“Yeah…” Cody sighed, picking at the sweets and joining in the conversation with Owen and Izzy.

~~~~

Noah and Cody left shortly after breakfast, leaving the other two to do god knows what to the apartment all afternoon.

“When are they going out?” Noah hadn’t been paying much attention to them at breakfast. He was trying to plan when it would be safe to come home.

Cody shivered beside him, the snow flurry already getting in his eyelashes. The day was chilly, and Noah was glad to be spending it somewhere indoors with heating, the pair of them wrapped up in thick coats and scarves.

“They’re not going out till like 3 or 4, bowling then a movie and dinner.” Cody replied, his voice muffled by the scarf covering his mouth.

“Ok, so they’ll probably be out all night. That’s good.”

“It is?” Cody was walking as close to Noah as he could, trying to leech his heat. It was going to take them nearly half an hour on the subway, then a bit of a walk, so Noah let him, knowing he’d need the warmth.

“Means we can have dinner and watch TV without the sound of them fucking.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s a plus side!” Cody laughed.

The ride there was uneventful, Cody linking their arms as they sat. Noah thought nothing of it, knowing this was just how Cody was with his friends, especially when he was cold. When they left the station and began the walk to the building, Cody was still hanging off of him, making it to the indoor golf course without freezing to death. 

~~~~

“Yes!” Cody was in the lead, as they had almost finished the neon lit mini golf course. Cody had even gotten two hole in one’s. “You’d better not be letting me win on purpose.” He scooted back to where Noah stood, grabbing him by the hands and pulling Noah along to the next hole.

“I wish I was, that would be less humiliating.” Noah said, letting Cody pull him by the hand, accepting his inevitable defeat. Hey, he couldn’t be good at everything.

Much to his credit, Cody got his final hole in one, whooping and pumping his fist in the air. He turned to Noah with a look of utter joy, wanting to share with the Indian boy. Noah felt himself being pulled into Cody’s ecstatic little bubble, both literally and figuratively, as Cody jumped up and wrapped both arms around Noah’s neck, giggling into Noah’s shoulder. Noah enveloped him into his arms, careful not to whack him in the back of the head with his golf club.

“Here, I’ll help you get your last shot.” Cody said cockily, sliding in behind Noah, helping him line up his shot while managing to spoon Noah while standing.

Noah felt himself relax and focus all at once, Cody’s hands over his, gearing him in the right direction. They both held their breath as the ball rolled down the slope, Cody resting his chin on Noah’s shoulder as it went.

Cody almost screamed Noah’s ear off with cheering as the ball plopped into the hole, while Noah remained still, stunned that Cody’s stupid act had actually worked.

“Arcade time.” Cody kissed Noah quickly on the ear, still pressed against his back, already onto the next bit of fun.

“Kay, let’s just give these back.” Noah agreed, ears flushed and hidden by his hair, laughing at Cody’s teeth glowing fluorescent in the neon lights.

~~~~

The two spent nearly an hour in the arcade alone, both releasing their competitive gaming spirits. Noah was better at the more traditional arcade games like pacman and Mortal Kombat, while Cody beat him at the sharpshooters and air hockey. The two battled against each other on the racing bikes, Cody in the lead until Noah cheated and shoved his bike against Cody’s, accidentally toppling him onto the floor.

Cody had spent a good five minutes at one of the claw machines alone, his tongue sticking out with concentration. Noah watched as the Rubix Cube he was attempting to catch slipped out of the claws for the hundredth time.

“Oh my god, just let me do it.” Noah groaned, trying to push Cody aside, knowing the trick to winning these things.

“No!” Cody stood his ground, and luck must have been on his side, as he won the cube and scrabbled for the box, yanking it out and handing the puzzle to Noah. “To replace your one I broke last week.” He explained sheepishly.

“You broke my Rubix cube?” Noah hadn’t even noticed, nor cared, not really. “Thanks.” He embraced Cody, thanking him for the gift, feeling Cody smile against his cheek. “Now let me go win you something.”

Cody followed Noah to another claw machine, pleased inside that Noah had picked a soft toy one, a guilty pleasure of his. Noah slid in the money and got to work, twisting the knobs with expertise as the claw jerked back and forward before sinking down and pulling a bright blue cat plushie on the first try.

He handed the toy to Cody, secretly smug at his success.

“How did you do that?” Cody gasped, ogling at his gift.

“Magic.” Noah replied with a smirk. “Let’s go back into town and find some ice cream.”

“Yes!” Cody grinned, hugging the cat, making Noah smile with pride.

They were almost out the door when Cody noticed one of the photo booths, and without hesitation, pulled Noah inside by his wrist and pushed him down onto the bench. Cody slotted in the coins and sat back; the space small with Cody half on Noah’s lap.

“Black and white looks good, I think.” Noah scrolled through the various style options.

“Yeah.” Cody agreed, leaning on Noah’s shoulder as he pressed ok. “Stupid faces first!”

The first photo was Noah sticking his tongue out and crossing his eyes, Cody twisting his face into a truly grotesque way beside him.

The second was the two of them with scrunched up faces, laughing at seeing the previous photo.

The third was softer, Noah smiling at the camera straight on, Cody back to resting his head on Noah’s shoulder.

The fourth, Noah hadn’t expected. The camera captured his genuine shock, his eyes wide and a tiny smile on his lips as Cody cupped his face and kissed him on the cheek, his eyes closed. They’d done that every morning for a month, but there was just something Noah couldn’t quite place at seeing physical proof of the act. Something burning and fluttery, but far from unpleasant.

“Sorry, I just wanted one cheesy picture to commemorate the date.” Cody laughed as they exited the booth, Noah crouched down at the printer box to pick up the print outs.

“It’s fine, it fits the day.” Noah said offhandedly, only half listening, trying to ignore the budding butterflies in his stomach. “Still didn’t say it was a date.” He said without thinking.

“Mm.” Cody hummed, kneeling down to look at the pictures in Noah’s hands. “Did they turn out ok?”

“Yeah, perfect.” Noah handed him his copy, glad that it had printed two reels, since Noah _really_ wanted those last two and didn’t want to flip a coin for them if they had had to split the reel. “Ice cream.” He said, standing up, putting his copy of the reel in his wallet.

“Ice cream.” Cody repeated quietly, staring at his copy of the pictures, looking contemplated and unsure, before doing the same, putting it in with his cards. Noah held out his arm for Cody to latch back on to, trying to lift his spirits again as they walked back out into the cold.

~~~~

“That is huge!” Cody gaped in awe at the pastry cone stuffed with four different flavours of ice cream that Noah was happily licking away at. Cody’s two scoop tub looked pathetic beside it.

“Don’t judge me.” Noah was enjoying this sweet treat.

“I’m not!” Cody protested, pressing their legs together under the table. Guess he was still cold; the ice cream probably wasn’t helping. “Let me try a taste of the marshmallow one?”

“Sure.” Noah held out the cone, letting Cody lick up some of the ice cream. “It’s on your lip.” Noah stifled a laugh at the bit of white cream still on Cody’s face. “Oh my god, I’m not looking at you like that.”

“Shut up.” Cody’s face burned and he wiped it away with his sleeve. “Your cream tastes so good though, Noah.” He fake moaned. Bastard was getting his own back.

“Geh, shut up you child.” Noah tried to hide the smirk on his face at Cody’s dirty joke, which Cody took as a chance to steal another lick of Noah’s cone. “If you want another scoop, go get some!”

“Nah.” Cody held out his tub for Noah. “Have some of mine then.”

“Deal.” Noah tasted both of the types in Cody’s bowl. They were so good, what the hell did they put in this stuff, crack?

They chatted about mundane things as they ate their ice cream, Cody finishing quickly and sneaking glances to a couple sat a few tables along from them. Noah didn’t get what was so fascinating until he saw that it was two guys around their age, giggling and swapping ice cream, stealing kisses from one another.

“So you’ve never had a Valentine’s kiss at all?” Noah queried.

“Shut up!” Cody blushed, embarrassed.

“I’m not making fun of you, I’m just asking, since you seem so fascinated with the guys over there.”

“No, I haven’t had one. Take it you have?” Cody crossed his arms, leaning against Noah’s side.

“Yeah.” Noah answered truthfully.

Cody remained silent against him, his eyes on the floor while Noah was still finishing up. He leant back when he was done, wiping his hands on the paper. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah.” Cody slid off his seat, leading the way out of the café, one last glance to the two men happily in love. It didn’t go unnoticed by Noah.

They started off for the station, the street deserted thanks to everyone being too busy with their partners or avoiding the snow. Noah came to a decision, pulling Cody to a halt with a tug of his scarf.

“What’s up?” Cody was hunched up, as if he were trying to fold into himself to fight off the cold.

“I’ll kiss you.” Noah said out of the blue.

“What?”

“I’ll kiss you. I think you should get a Valentine’s kiss, even if it’s just from me.” Noah added.

“Uhm, sure.” Cody’s cheeks were red, and not just from the cold. “You don’t mind?”

“Nope. All this lovey-dovey shit’s gotten to me today it seems.” Noah joked, stepping in closer.

Cody remained still as Noah held him by the elbows, unsure where to touch the other. Noah leant forward, bringing their lips together for the first time in years, a brief kiss on the mouth. Cody reacted instantly, bringing his gloved hands to lay against Noah’s chest. With a positive response, Noah did it again, keeping his lips there longer, until Cody’s own began to move, kissing him tentatively, as if he were unsure just how much of a kiss Noah was willing to give him. Noah held him tighter, feeling their cold noses brush, kissing Cody sweetly, until he darted a tongue over Cody’s lip, asking for an invite. Cody complied, kissing him deeper, and Noah could taste the ice cream still, but it didn’t have anything on how delicious Cody was himself.

The kiss stopped abruptly as a large man shoved by them, knocking his elbows into Cody and sending him slipping to the ground.

“Your taking up the whole sidewalk, go kiss somewhere else!” The dude yelled at them as he bustled by, Noah catching Cody in his arms before he landed on the ice.

“Sorry!” Cody shouted back, coming back down to reality.

The two shared a look, Cody’s lips were as red as his cheeks now, the snow falling gently around them as Noah still held him close.

“Ok?” He asked the smaller.

“Yeah.” Cody grinned at him. “Dude, you’ve gotten so good at kissing, that was unreal.”

“Yeah?” Noah laughed, starting to walk. “Not so bad yourself Code-ster.”

Cody giggled at that, linking their fingers together as they got to the subway, giddy with happiness.

~~~~

“So, was the date ok?” Noah asked, stirring the dahl at the hob, his back to Cody sitting at the kitchen table. They’d been home for less than an hour, changed back into their pyjamas and were warming back up.

When he didn’t get a response, Noah turned his head to see Cody sat there, a massive grin on his face.

“You called it a date!” Cody sounded euphoric at Noah’s slip up.

“Oh, I guess I did.” Noah admitted.

Cody rose from his seat, walking up to stand against Noah. For a moment, Noah thought that he was going to kiss him, and every part of Noah was itching for Cody to do so.

Instead, Cody wrapped both of his skinny arms around Noah from behind, hugging him tightly, his face smooshed into the space between Noah’s shoulder blades. Noah melted at the embrace, letting go of the spoon to link his fingers with Cody’s. God damn Valentine’s day, turning Noah into a sap. Or maybe that was just the effect that Cody had on him, and if that was the case, Noah was screwed since Cody wasn’t a one-day trip, he was a constant companion in Noah’s life.

“It was amazing.” Cody murmured into the back of Noah’s neck. “Did you enjoy it?”

“Yeah, it was really fun.” Noah smiled honestly, even if Cody couldn’t see his face right now. He patted Cody’s hands to get him to let up, he could smell the naan burning in the oven. “Grab the beers and I’ll plate up.”

“Yessir.” Cody saluted and headed to the fridge, following Noah to the sofa.

~~~~

The two ate the dahl and naan in chatty companionship on the sofa, watching a couple of CSI reruns, mindless jokes filtering between the two. Cody finished first and lay down, his head on Noah’s knee as Grissom studied bugs on TV yet again and somebody got murdered in a casino. Noah got up and came back with a pint of his favourite Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and two spoons. Cody took the odd bite but let Noah finish it off and stretching back, stomach content and a lap full of Cody in seconds.

“Mm, dude, don’t press on me so much.” Noah groaned as Cody wriggled around, trying to get comfy against his front.

“Oh, sorry.” Cody eased off of him, deciding to lean gently against his side instead.

“Hey…” Noah said after a few minutes of playing with Cody’s hair. He couldn’t help being drawn to touching Cody all of the time, it was second nature between the two of them at this point. “Want some Bailey’s? I still have that bottle from Christmas.”

“Sure.” Cody grinned at him. “I’ll get the glasses.”

Cody jogged through to the kitchen while Noah went to the bedroom to pull out the Bailey’s from his cupboard, thankful that he hadn’t let Owen and Izzy at it.

“Cheers.” Noah toasted, clinking his glass with Cody’s as they sat back down to another episode.

~~~~

An hour later, Cody was pink cheeked and giggling at another one of Noah’s lame jokes. Noah had pulled Cody’s legs over his own at some point without realising, one hand on his knee, the other on his own glass.

“I thought he was yelling at us because he was homophobic!” Cody chuckled, reminiscing about the guy in the street earlier.

“Nah, he just wanted to get home and out of the cold.” Noah took another gulp of the sweet liquor. They were both tipsy and giddy, adrenaline from the day still running through them.

“Maybe he was going home to his husband.” Cody joked.

“Doubt it, those were straight man’s jeans, if I ever saw them.” Noah laughed.

“Stereotyping!” Cody laughed with him, patting Noah on the arm. “But yeah, he was definitely straight.” He agreed with a lopsided smile, one hand still rubbing gently on Noah’s arm.

Noah was relaxed and pliant against the sofa cushions, enjoying the attention from Cody. He was warm from the food and alcohol, as well as Cody draped over him. Cody couldn’t keep his hands off of Noah it seemed, one hand toying with Noah’s loose hair as well as the one on his bicep. Noah put his empty glass to the side, and later he would blame it on the Bailey’s, but he felt confident, and the playful look on Cody’s face reassured Noah that Cody was feeling just as flirty as he was right now.

He gripped Cody by the thighs, tight enough to pull him fully onto his lap completely, Cody practically tipping himself onto Noah’s legs. He twisted around until he was perched upright, facing Noah with his legs either side of Noah’s own and his hips, holding him down on the sofa. Noah had a palm on Cody’s hip, the other reaching for the bottle and taking a sip, forgoing the glass. Cody downed his drink and left the glass on the table, watching Noah with intensity.

“So, have I converted you to liking the 14th yet?” Cody asked, voice lilted, as he returned his hands to Noah’s hair, tousling and messing with Noah’s dark locks.

“Hmmm, maybe.” Noah preened under the touch. “So you can write your first Valentine’s day down as a success, I hope.”

“For definite.” Cody’s fingertips were tracing against Noah’s scalp, making Noah dig his own fingers in at Cody’s belt line, the feeling magic, tugging him down to sit firmly on him. Noah just wanted to feel Cody against him. Everywhere.

“Yeah, you set the bar high.” Cody continued. “If I have another Valentine’s with someone else, they’re gonna have to pull out all the stops to beat that.”

“Yeah?” Noah’s heart was pounding, picking up on the _‘if’_ in Cody’s sentence. Probably a mistake that meant nothing on Cody’s part, but Noah felt like a god right now, imagining another year with Cody.

“Mm, give me some.” Cody switched focus, pawing at the bottle of liquor. Noah obliged, holding it up for Cody to drink from. Cody managed to get a drip of Bailey’s trickling down his lip, onto his chin, and he went to wipe it away, but Noah beat him to it, swiping away the drop with the pad of his thumb.

“Getting cream all over your face today Cody.” Noah teased, thumbing lightly between Cody’s chin and his lips.

Cody leaned even closer, his face inches from Noah’s so close that Noah could smell the sweetness on his breath.

“It’s not midnight yet.” Cody purred.

“Uh, yeah?” Noah wasn’t following.

“So…” Cody pushed back Noah’s fringe, stroking his face. “So, it’s still Valentine’s day. Is our date officially over?”

“It doesn’t have to be.” Noah played along. “What do you have in mind?” His hand was edging along the small of Cody’s back, pressing into the dip at his spine.

“Hmm, you’ve had ice cream twice today.” Cody’s lips were against Noah’s ear, his breath tickling and making every nerve in Noah’s upper body tingle. “So, to keep things in two’s, maybe we should kiss again. Y’know if you want to.”

He left it up for Noah to decide, the press of his thighs against Noah’s waist making it obvious that Cody was eager. Noah ran his knuckles up and down Cody’s spine, making Cody wait, writhing under the touch, teasing him.

“Sounds a good plan.”

Cody didn’t wait a second longer, he’d been holding back until the ok from Noah. He closed the distance, his kiss confident and bright, eager and ferocious compared to the softer, snow light one hours earlier. Noah met him in pace and attention, only loosening his grip on Cody to twist the cap back on the bottle of alcohol, making sure they didn’t spill it all over the sofa.

Cody took the bottle from his hand, breaking the kiss to put it on the floor. Noah pulled him back by the collar of his shirt, the kiss becoming heavy, both panting hard into each other’s mouths, tongues dancing between them. Cody was pressed flush against Noah from mouth to hips, and Noah felt melded together with the other, and when Cody began to slide gently in his lap, the friction between their bodies making every fibre of Noah’s being feel like he was on fire, he felt truly alive. Noah dragged Cody down onto the sofa with him, the space minimal as they lay against each other, but Noah preferred it that way.

Cody extracted himself from Noah’s mouth, immediately attaching his teeth to Noah’s jaw, sucking and nibling on the skin. Noah bit back a moan, his hands snaking over every part of Cody’s body, to places he’d only ever had a touch of on accident, Cody’s ass, his ribs, the space between his thighs.

Cody switched his attention to Noah’s neck, his hands wandering up the front of Noah’s shirt, fingernails scratching lightly at Noah’s flushed skin, and he couldn’t hold back the moan this time.

Noah felt at boiling point, flipping them over so he could climb on top of the smaller to return the gesture, kissing Cody’s collarbone with fierceness. Hearing Cody groan with pleasure underneath him, all from the power in Noah’s mouth, the skill of his tongue, the noises Cody was doing was making all the blood in Noah’s body flow south.

“Hn, Noah.” Cody gasped out.

“What?” Noah stopped immediately and sat up, terrified that he’d gone too far.

Cody yanked him back down, their faces almost touching for a moment, before Cody kissed him once more, quick and rough. “No, I don’t mean stop.” He panted. “I…can we, shirts off?” Cody seemed to be struggling to find the words, caught up in his pleasure.

“Uh…” Noah faltered, suddenly unsure, self-conscious.

Really, what was the difference between Cody feeling every curve and stretch of his body with his hands and visibly seeing it for himself? It shouldn’t worry it him, but it did.

“You look so fucking good, Noah, you’re driving me wild.” Cody bit at the tip of his ear, moaning with want.

Noah wanted to believe him and his sugary sweet words, but the niggling little evil voice in his head was filling him with doubt.

Noah’s hands were fisted at the hem of Cody’s own shirt, unsure if he could. Cody wriggled under him, twisting his t-shirt off. He lay back, his eyes fixed on Noah’s own, and Noah could feel the nervousness radiating off of Cody right now, how he’d truly opened himself up to Noah, all barriers gone.

Noah took a moment to drink in the sight, savour the moment of Cody like that, waiting for him with lust in his eyes. Noah ran a hand down Cody’s chest and the concave of his stomach, how different from his own it was these days. Cody was pale and tinted pink from their making out, bones visible in places that Noah had forgotten that they could show. His touch made Cody shiver in his hands, breathing heavily and looking up at Noah with trust, begging him to do the same. Noah leant down, kissing him for a moment, before sitting back, toying at the bottom of his own shirt. Cody sensed his hesitance, sitting up to kiss Noah softly, his arms snaking around Noah’s waist, giving him the last shred of confidence to remove his clothing.

“Just…don’t laugh ok?” Noah kept his eyes closed, terrified of the inevitable, for Cody to pull a blanket over them out of politeness, to hide Noah’s body from sight and ignore it, or worse, burst into laughter.

“Noah.” Cody’s voice was deep and raw. “Hey, open your eyes.”

Tentatively, Noah did, seeing in seconds the contrast between them.

His skin was tanned, the colour of cocoa powder, where Cody’s was milky white or rose pink in places. Noah was soft and rounded in places that Cody was sharp, both of them with a few odd scars or marks, Cody with faded lines at various parts from past injuries, but Noah was a whole lot more conscious of the white stripes at his own hips and belly that he usually ignored. It did something to him, something he liked the feeling of, but there was no guarantee that Cody felt the same. For all he knew, Cody might even be disgusted with him.

“I would never make fun of you. You’re gorgeous, y’know that?” Cody murmured against his lips, making Noah twitch on instinct when Cody returned his hands to Noah’s naked torso. He attempted to shy away, but Cody held him firm, fingers tracing his skin, making him feel electric. Noah didn’t answer, because he couldn’t voice how he felt, to hear someone like Cody, somebody that he considered so _goddamn_ beautiful, call him that.

“You’re the one that’s stunning.” Noah replied at last.

And for all his own lack of confidence, he remembered that Cody had those doubts too. That he couldn’t see himself the way the rest of the world did, and maybe Noah couldn’t fix him with kisses alone, but he sure could do his best to make him feel special and beautiful, even if it was just for a night.

Cody kissed him again, soft at first, but it soon heated back up to the temperature of before, Noah basking in the attention and care that Cody was spoiling him with, doing his best to return with gusto. They put their insecurities aside for the time being, taking the effort to map out each other’s bodies with hands and mouths, a slip of a tongue over a nipple, hands exploring newly exposed skin, uncharted territory they’d never gone before.

The pyjama pants were quick to be shed, the boxer shorts soon following after. Noah knew they should move it to the bedroom, _their_ bedroom, the risk of Owen and Izzy walking in growing stronger by the minute. But he couldn’t stop, the rational part of his brain overridden by his lustful side, the side that was moaning loudly as Cody took all of Noah’s length in his mouth, sucking and petting at Noah’s member like it was his favourite lollipop. Noah gave out a warning, feeling the heat pool in his stomach before he was spilling over the edge. Cody, to his credit, took it all, wiping his mouth seductively as Noah fell backwards, feeling like jelly. He pulled Cody back on top of him, kissing him with fervour, intrigued by the taste of himself in Cody’s mouth.

Cody was bobbing in his lap, desperate for release. Noah switched them around, laying Cody down, a quick thought to place his own t-shirt under Cody’s ass, just for the sake of the sofa. He went to town on Cody’s dick, those hours of reading romance and erotic fiction paying off. He felt Cody come undone with a swipe of his tongue and a thumb teasing lightly around Cody’s entrance.

Cody fell back onto the cushions, a sheen of sweat and contentment spread on his face. Noah sat up, kissing Cody gently on the forehead.

They lay together, sharing short kisses without speaking, before Noah could feel Cody’s temperature dropping, his skin cooling quickly, even with Noah pressed against him. Noah rose, both of them sticky and worn out, but he put his underwear and pj pants back on, heading to the bedroom. He came back with another shirt for himself, and a sweater for Cody. They redressed, and just as Cody was pulling on the sweater, a key rattled in the door, the secret moment over.

“Hey, you guys are still up?” Owen stepped into the room with Izzy clinging to him, surprised to see the other two awake.

“It smells like sex in here!” Izzy stated giggling. Noah and Cody shared a look, fear on their faces. “Ooh bailey’s.” Izzy pounced on the bottle, uncapping and taking a swig without asking. That’s why Noah had hid it. “I’m just kidding, I know you two losers were just watching crappy crime dramas, you’re so predictable.”

Oh, how wrong she was, but Noah wasn’t going to correct her.

“How was the golf? Is it cool?” Owen sat down in the loveseat, pulling Izzy down with him. Those two were still all loved up it seemed.

The four of them slipped into casual conversation, Cody and Noah remaining a respectable distance from each other and not letting slip what they had been doing only a short while before. Noah went to bed late that night, Cody already stretched out and fast asleep when he made his way into the room. Noah took a moment to watch Cody breathing lightly, his face soft with sleep, as he tried to grasp that he’d had sex with this brunette tonight. It wasn’t what he’d planned, what he’d set out to do that day. Hell, Noah hadn’t even planned to kiss him.

It was like they went in circles, every now and then there would be a random night where they’d kiss and giggle together, act like they were boyfriends and madly in love, then come morning, they were back to bro hugs and being just friends. This had been happening since they were sixteen and on an island on a reality show.

That felt like a lifetime ago now.

Not that being friends wasn’t awesome, but sometimes Noah really wished they would just take the jump and be together. This was the furthest they’d ever gone, and Noah couldn’t say why, but it had felt different the whole day, and many days beforehand. They acted like a couple on a regular basis, minus the kissing and sex. Screw that, they actually did kiss every day, on the cheek at least. Noah didn’t know what this meant for them now. Were they a thing? Or was it yet another one-night stand? That seemed more likely.

Noah gave up trying to work it out for now, climbing into bed, drifting off with Cody pulled flush against his chest.

\------------ 


	2. Part 2

\------------

BFF HELP

BFF Help

“Say, Owen…” Noah began to speak but faltered, debating if he should or shouldn’t actually speak what was on his mind. “Uh. Doesn’t matter.”

“No, what’s up?” Owen had noticed his best friend had been distant the past few days, clearly mulling over something in his mind, his head ticking away.

Owen wasn’t blind, he knew something had happened on Valentine’s day between his two roommates. When he and Izzy had returned from their own date, Noah and Cody looked a little too flushed with messed up hair to be innocent, their demeanour all around awkward, on guard over something. The shirt bunched up between the two seat cushions that Owen had found the next day also smelt uh, questionable. It didn’t take a genius to guess what had happened.

“Just…I gotta talk to you about something.” Noah played around with the brim of his glass, not looking at Owen, the two sat at the kitchen table. “Some advice maybe.”

“Sure, Noah. Fire away.” Owen smiled reassuringly at the other.

“So, uh…” Noah mumbled, embarrassed to even be sharing this, even if it was just with Owen. “So, Cody and I had uhm, another one of _those_ nights.” He finally got out.

Owen knew immediately what he meant by that. Over the years, Noah and Cody had had a handful of hook-ups, mostly drunken kisses or dares that carried on after their time was up. They’d never went too far or discussed what it meant. Noah denied there was ever anything emotional in the exchanges, that it was always a heat of the moment, just for fun, but Owen knew better.

“On Valentine’s day?” Owen guessed.

“Uh, yeah.” Noah grinned sheepishly. Obviously, they hadn’t been so great at hiding it as he’d thought. He quickly went over the day that he and Cody had had, telling Owen about the kiss, and then the aftermath on the sofa, thankfully not in great detail.

“Hmm.” Owen mused. This was interesting, he’d had his suspicions that they’d went further that night, even if they had acted the same all week. He just knew his best friend that well! “I mean, you wanted to do that right? Are you regretting it now?”

“No!” Noah shot back immediately. “It was amazing. I’m just…urgh, I don’t even know, I’m just venting.” He shrugged.

“When are you guys just going to admit that you should be together.” Owen sighed.

“Uh, we don’t feel that way about each other.” Noah raised his eyebrows at Owen.

“You do! It’s so obvious!” Owen protested. Honestly, they were hard to watch sometimes, they were that sickening. “You guys sleep together each night, cuddle all the time, THE KISSES EACH DAY NOAH!” Owen was trying to drill the obvious message into Noah’s thick skull. “You cook together, you share clothes, and now you’ve spent Valentine’s day together, AKA, the most important day for love in the year, and what did you two do? You made love on the sofa. Can it be any more obvious?!” Owen whined, it was exasperating, really.

Noah stared at Owen in shock, he hadn’t been expecting such an outburst. But he had his counter argument ready, always prepared to debate.

“One – of course we share a bed, he can’t sleep on that crappy sofa forever and you and Izzy have the only other bed. Yes, we snuggle a lot because I’m pretty sure Cody is part koala bear. Ok, yeah the kisses aren’t that normal, but it started as a joke!” He was grasping at straws really, but he continued. “4 – we live together, of course we’re going to cook together, dude I cook with you so that’s not even valid. 5 – Clothes are just clothes, it doesn’t mean a thing, and it’s not like I wear his much.” Owen was looking at Noah, a deadpan expression on his face. So far, Noah’s points had been moot to him. “And uh yeah, ok, I can’t say anything for Valentine’s day, that was a fluke.” Noah admitted to that one at least.

“You’re into him.” Owen sat back, a satisfied grin on his lips.

“I am not!” Noah protested.

“You think he’s cuuuuute!” Owen teased, prodding Noah in the cheek affectionately.

“Of course I do, I have eyes.” Noah sighed, proving his point by rolling said eyes. “I think lots of people are cute, that doesn’t mean anything. Hell, even you’re not so bad, in your weird way.” He grinned jokingly.

“But think about it,” Owen turned serious now. “Like, really think about it. Whatever you think is cute with me or other people, it’s different from how you see Cody. It’s a different feeling altogether isn’t it? I know it, you put him in a whole other category than everyone else, I can tell.”

Noah stared at his glass, unspeaking. Owen thought he’d broken him, until he saw Noah’s eyes bulge wide as the realisation hit him like a ton of bricks. Owen had been right.

“Oh my god, I _do_ like Cody!” Noah groaned, making Owen burst into laughter.

“Yaay, you finally admitted it!” Owen cheered. “Now, when are you going to tell him?” Owen had his chin in his hands, his eyes sparkling with excitement. He was so happy for Noah, now he wanted to do his best and help Noah get with his dream guy.

“Huh?” Noah sat back, making the chair rock. “Oh, no way, never.”

“Whaaat? Why not?” Owen cried.

“Uhh, look at me.” Noah waved a hand over his front, gesturing to himself. “Then think about Cody, he’s gorgeous. Plus, he’s dated a rock star and slept with two super models. I can’t compete with that.”

“Oh don’t.” Owen groaned, rubbing his face. “I am not having you bring yourself down.”

“I’m not, it’s just facts.”

“Justin and Alejandro were one-night-stands that he regrets, you know that, and Trent wasn’t super famous when he dated him. They were seventeen and in a shitty boyband!” Noah rolled his eyes yet again. He needed to be careful or he’d burst an eye vessel vein with the amount of exercise he gave his eyes. Owen continued. “And anyway, Cody’s made it pretty clear that he finds you attractive, more than once. Just because you’re not 6ft5 with a six pack doesn’t mean he shouldn’t like you. Plus, you and him are super great friends, you just get him like no one else does.”

“Exactly, we’re great friends. I’m not going to ruin that.”

“Great friends don’t sleep together.” Owen shot back. “I love you man, but I don’t want to bang you.”

“I’m just not ginger and crazy enough for you.” Noah grinned, deferring the point.

“Just…Ok, don’t tell him, fine, that’s up to you.” Owen held up his hands in defeat. “But damn, do you guys need to sort this out. You can’t be stuck in a limbo forever.”

“Yeah, maybe eventually. Thanks Owen, for listening.” Noah smiled at him.

“No worries pal. That’s what I’m here for.” Owen nudged him lightly on the shoulder. “And for the record, I’m rooting for you guys to work it out. I’ve thought you two were perfect for each other since day one.”

Noah let out a short laugh, glad he had the best friend in the world.

\------------

NAPPING TOGETHER

Noah blinked blearily as the alarm blared beside his head. He reached over an arm and slammed it off, rolling over to tell Cody to get up. Instead of a snoozing brunette, he found a cold, empty space in the bed.

Noah was a bit pissed off. He didn’t need to be up at 5am, that was Cody with his opening shift, and since he already seemed to be up, couldn’t he have switched off the alarm and let Noah sleep peacefully?

Noah lay back, trying to go back to dreamland when Cody crept back into the room, his hair dripping and cheeks pink from the shower, a towel around his shoulders.

“Oh, sorry, I meant to turn it off.” Cody yawned, sitting on the end of the bed and beginning to dry his hair by the towel.

Noah tilted his head to look at the other, noticing the dark blue bags under Cody’s eyes, more prominent than ever, the way Cody was sat awkwardly and stiff.

A couple of days before, Cody had slipped in the shower and had landed hard on his back, his spine hitting the metal handlebar on the side of the bathtub. His back was speckled with dark bruising, his hips sore to the touch. Noah was just glad that he hadn’t broken his spine, and nothing seemed to be fractured when Noah had checked. Cody had only slept a few hours that night, uncomfortable and in pain no matter which way he lay or how much aspirin he took. Last night, Noah took pity on him and had tried to make the comfiest nest he could for Cody, extra pillows and the duvet folded under him for squishy support.

“Did you sleep at all?” Noah asked, sleepily.

“Only about an hour.” Cody had said. He sounded as exhausted as he looked.

“You sure you’re ok for work?” Noah was worried, Cody’s job wasn’t just pressing a button on a machine to make a latte. It was more laborious than it seemed, constant rushing around, hefting around boxes and trays of cups, on his feet for 8 hours street. Noah wouldn’t want to do it.

“Yeah, we’re understaffed already right now. Plus, I’m on holiday from this shift, so it’d look bad if I called in the day before.” Cody took his shirt off, applying some painkiller gel to where he could reach.

“Here, I’ll do it.” Noah took the bottle from him. Cody sat still, but Noah felt him twinge when he rubbed the gel in as gently as he could. “At least you have proof that you’re injured.” Cody laughed at that. “Tell Gwen and Joanne to do all the work today, ok?”

“Aha, I’ll try.” Cody stood up when Noah was done, slipping off his pj’s and gingerly dressing in his uniform.

Noah lay back down, his eyes feeling heavy. As much as he liked Cody, he just wanted him to go and turn off the light, let Noah go back to sleep. Or, better yet, if Cody could just admit defeat and call off work then slide back into bed with him.

Instead, he heard Cody rummaging around in a carrier bag somewhere on the floor by the desk, then a crinkle of a package being opened. Noah opened his eyes again when the smell of sweet banana hit him.

“What’s that?” Noah sat up, seeing Cody pop something in his mouth.

“Banana bread.” Cody said, tearing off another piece.

“Can I have some?” Noah’s mouth watered. He adored banana bread, and that loaf looked heavenly, moist with candied walnuts on top.

“Hmmm.” Cody mused, chewing.

Noah knew he wasn’t going to eat the whole thing, like c’mon, it would go dry before Cody even got halfway through it. Noah would just be helping, not letting it go to waste.

“Only if you promise that we can nap together when I get back home. I’m sooo tired.” Cody begged.

“Uh, sure.” Noah hadn’t expected that. How was that even something he had to bargain for? He would have done that anyway if Cody asked.

“Promise?” Cody persisted, handing the packet for Noah to take some.

“Promise.” Noah smiled.

Cody nodded and finished his breakfast, cracked open a small can of energy drink, even when Noah told him not to. At least he was having something solid with it for once.

Cody was putting on his shoes at the door as Noah exited the bedroom and came over. Cody had already kissed his cheek as he was finishing up his breakfast, expecting Noah to have crawled back into bed.

“Why are you up?” Cody stared at him questioningly.

“I’m awake now, won’t be able to get back to sleep. Coffee time.” Noah answered.

“Mm ok.” Cody buttoned up his coat. “Don’t forget your promise.”

“I won’t.” Noah stepped into his space, hugging Cody as carefully as he could. Cody relaxed against him, his head on the Indian boy’s shoulder with his eyes closed. “C’mon, you can’t fall asleep on me yet. Up.” Noah gently pushed him away, holding him upright by the arms as Cody yawned wide. “See ya, have fun.” Noah kissed his forehead, making Cody smile.

“See you at 2.” Cody waved, exiting the apartment.

~~~~

Noah hardly even noticed when Cody came home at 1.30.

Noah had an essay due at 12pm the next day that he’d completely forgotten about and hadn’t even started, so he was tapping away on his laptop, sat at the table with Owen, who was having a much more leisurely time playing sims on his computer.

“Heey.” Cody bounded into the room, a big smile on his face.

“Hey.” Owen and Noah both said, Owen’s greeting more energetic than Noah’s.

“Nap time?” Cody pawed at Noah’s arm, expectant.

“Can’t right now.” Noah’s eyes were trained on the document, so he didn’t see Cody’s face fall at his reply.

“Why?” Cody sounded upset.

“I forgot about some homework and I need to get this done. Go have some lunch or something.” He shook Cody off, not paying any attention to the flabbergasted expression on Cody’s face.

“I’m not hungry.” Cody said in dismay.

“I can make you a sandwich.” Owen offered, already standing to prepare it. “Maybe Noah will be finished by the time you’ve eaten it!” He said to Cody, who looked at the blond boy with doubt but relented, sliding into the seat opposite Noah.

Noah also highly doubted he would be done in that time as well, but if it got Cody to eat some damn lunch and leave him alone for a bit, then he wasn’t going to disagree with Owen.

Owen whipped up something for the three of them in 5 minutes, and Cody chatted with him while he ate, occasionally looking at Noah with hope. Noah was too lost in his work, mindlessly eating his lunch and ignoring the others. When Cody had finished and washed and dried the plates, as well as sitting there for an extra ten minutes, his eyes drooping, he spoke up.

“Can we nap now?”

“No, I’ve still got loads to do.” Noah rubbed at his temples, exasperated with the other two and his writing.

“But you promised.” Cody pouted.

“I’ll buy you more banana bread as an apology. Also, I finished your banana bread.” He added guiltily. That cake was better than drugs.

Owen watched the two of them going back and forth like it was a tennis match. While he had waited, Cody had told Owen about this morning, so he knew what Cody was after and why.

“I don’t care about the bread; I care about the promise. Please?” Cody was frowning.

“No!” Noah said angrier than he had meant. “Just go to sleep, you need it. I’ve got to do this. If you’re so tired, you’ll be asleep in seconds.”

“Fine.” Cody stood up abruptly, casting a glare to Noah as he stalked out of the room.

Noah didn’t look up, staring at his screen, his head feeling fuzzy. Truthfully, he was crazy tired himself and wanted nothing more than to crash for a few hours, seeing as he’d hit a wall at what to even write now.

“That was mean Noah.” Owen was glowering at him. He’d been sitting there stewing for ten minutes, contemplating whether to get involved in their domestic or not.

“Oh, now what?” Noah bit back.

“He came running home y’know.”

“Yeah, because he’s tired.”

“No, because he was so excited to sleep and snuggle up with you. You know he always stops in at the store or hangs around after work, but he must have ran out the door to get back this quick.” Owen reminded Noah.

“Maybe he got away early.” Noah didn’t know. He hadn’t asked.

“He didn’t, he told me.” Owen countered.

Noah paused, saving his document, calling it quits. His mind just wasn’t working enough to do another 5000 words right now. “Really?”

“Yes! He could have went straight to bed, but he tried to get your stupid butt to come with him because he wanted _you_ to make him feel better, not a pillow.” Owen rolled his eyes at his best friend. “You’re so stupid sometimes Noah.”

Noah remained silent, knowing Owen was probably right. He felt like an asshole now. He hadn’t meant to snap at Cody. He sighed, closing the laptop. He had to go make it right.

“I’m gonna go apologize now. Night.”

Noah left the kitchen as Owen gave him a thumbs up.

~~~~

Cody was curled up on Noah’s side, his face burrowed under the sheets when Noah came into the room. Noah worried that the other was crying, but he couldn’t tell. He came over to the bed, pulling back the duvet and tearing away the pillow against Cody’s back and quickly replacing the space with himself before Cody could react. Cody was stiff and silent, but he let Noah slip his arms around him, pressing his front against Cody’s back.

“I’m sorry.” Noah said, his voice muffled in Cody’s shoulder.

Cody stayed stoic, but Noah felt him relax back into him.

“What about your essay?” Cody asked, voice short and clipped.

“I set an alarm for 8, I’ll finish it later.” Noah linked their fingers together. “Here, lay back with me, I’m better than a lumpy old pillow.” Noah hoped he could win back Cody, that he’d be forgiven. Hugs usually worked.

Noah rolled onto his back, tugging Cody gently to follow him. Cody did so, turning over so that Noah’s arm was draped around his shoulder’s, his arm sturdy against Cody’s back. He nestled his face into Noah’s chest, forgoing a pillow altogether, preferring Noah’s softness, his arm wrapped around Noah’s torso. After a moment, he slid his palm under the hem, pressing his hand against the warmth of Noah’s stomach. Noah held him tightly, but not enough to hurt, careful of the bruises, resting his head on top of Cody’s.

“You’re forgiven.” Cody mumbled sleepily, sounding ready to drift off.

“Thanks. Sleep well.” Noah smiled into his hair.

\------------

SICKENING

Noah knew it would only be a matter of time before Cody got sick.

Cody had improved since his initial arrival at the start of January, his cheeks a little less sunken, he was less prone to having dizzy spells or feeling shaky. Noah could still feel the ridges of his spine when he spooned him at night, but at least he knew that Cody was getting some nutrition and vitamins with more regular meals. There had been the odd sniffles or coughs, but nothing major.

But his immune system was still pretty terrible. Noah was semi impressed that it had taken this long for him to be awoken in the middle of the night by Cody bolting out of bed and sprinting to the bathroom.

Earlier that evening, Noah had watched Cody’s face grow paler by the hour, and the other had went to bed early. When Noah had eventually retired himself, Cody was in a fitful sleep, a cold sweat on his face as he huddled into the pillows. His skin was burning hot when Noah had laid the back of his hand to Cody’s forehead, checking his temperature. Typical, it was a week since their nap and Cody’s bruises had went down, but then he ends up sick, still not getting a proper sleep.

When Cody had bolted off to the bathroom at who knows what ungodly hour of the morning to puke, Noah lay in bed for a few minutes, blinking blearily at the sudden lack of a warm body against him. He heard Cody retching, and sighed, rolling out of bed and heading to the kitchen to get the sick guy a glass of water.

Noah rapped lightly on the bathroom door to alert Cody before he came in, seeing Cody hurling up his insides.

“Told ya that tofu smelt weird earlier and you shouldn’t have eaten it.” Noah smirked, but didn’t really want to make Cody feel bad. Or well, worse, as the guy currently looked like a corpse, hunched over the toilet bowl, grey faced and sweaty.

“Shut up.” He choked out, his voice hoarse and raw.

“Sorry, couldn’t resist.” Noah knelt down beside him. Luckily for Cody, Noah didn’t have a weak stomach. He’d grown up in a house with two parents, 7 siblings and his paternal grandparents, plus a couple of dogs. Someone was sick every other month, so the sight of puke didn’t affect him anymore. “Here, some water if you can handle it.”

“Thanks.” Cody weakly took the glass, sipping away. “I’ll sleep on the sofa, don’t worry.”

“Nah, it’s still too cold and you need to be comfy, rest up properly.” Noah rubbed gentle circles on his back as he dry heaved. “Just bring a basin through if you can’t make it to the bathroom.”

Cody was too tired to protest, running a hand through his damp hair. “Ok.”

When he finally seemed to be done, Cody stumbled back through to the bedroom with a bucket he’d found somewhere to see Noah already pulling extra blankets, making a flumpy nest for Cody.

“Thanks.” Cody slid in, wrapping himself up, shivering still.

“Wake me up if you need anything.” Noah said.

Cody nodded, and Noah tucked the blankets in tightly around the other. Noah missed the feeling of Cody pressed against him, a wedge of pillows and blankets separating them for the first time in weeks, but he couldn’t be selfish. Cody got up a few more times, but didn’t hassle Noah, and when Noah woke in the morning, Cody was in a deep sleep.

~~~~

Noah came home from the grocery store past lunchtime to see that Cody had woken up and migrated to the living room, accompanied by a mound of pillows and blankets as per usual. Owen was sat in the armchair, keeping him company, and the pair of them were watching a cheesy musical on the TV.

Noah got a murmur of a hello from the brunette, before heading to kitchen and unpacking the groceries, returning with a bottle of iced coffee for himself and a green smoothie he’d picked up for Cody. He greeted Owen, who was too wrapped up in singing along to say hi to his best friend.

“Hey, feeling any better?” Noah crouched down by Cody’s face, as he was slouched on his side.

“Not thrown up in a while.” Cody shrugged quietly.

“Think you can eat anything?”

“Noooo” Cody groaned at the suggestion. “I drank some ginger tea though.”

“That’s good.” Noah held up the bottle. “Want to try some smoothie? Gets some vitamins and liquid in, double whammy. It’s kale and kiwi and lime, and shit, you know it’s healthy when it’s that colour.” He grinned.

“Yeah, I’ll have some.” Cody sat up, shivering as the blanket slipped from his shoulders and he took the bottle from Noah. “Thanks. Mm that’s really good.”

Noah sat down beside him, glad to see him a little perkier than last night. “Hey, you’ll throw up again if you drink that so fast.” He reached over and stopped Cody from chugging the whole bottle in one go.

“Hn, don’t bring me delicious things if you don’t want me to drink it.” Cody pouted, but relented, pushing himself against Noah’s side.

“Yeah, yeah.” Noah petted his head lightly, and pulled the blanket back around both of them, keeping Cody warm. Owen shot them a playful glance but didn’t comment on Cody resting his face into Noah’s shoulder.

~~~~

As much as Cody had loved the smoothie, it hadn’t loved him back.

A couple of hours after, Cody was back in the bathroom throwing up harder than ever. Noah had brought him water again, sympathetic of the other boy busy dry heaving. Noah sat on the bathtub, there if Cody needed him.

Cody had stopped, sitting back from the bowl and momentarily burst into tears. “I hate this!” He cried, feeling pathetic and exhausted.

Noah slid down to the floor, shifting to sit behind the other as he regurgitated some more green goo, letting him do what he had to do. Noah rubbed his back like he was a baby until Cody finished, falling back against Noah, breathing heavily. “I just wanna go to sleep.”

“Wait a few more minutes, to make sure you’re done.” Noah soothed, one arm loosely around Cody’s waist, careful to not press too tight and make it worse. The other hand rubbing gently on Cody’s arm, trying to warm him.

“Mm.” Cody melted into him, seeking heat and leaning his head back onto Noah’s collar bone.

Noah swiped his fringe back, feeling the skin was cold and damp.

“Love you Noah. You’re the best.” Cody mumbled.

Noah put it down to delirious rambling, but the message still made Noah feel warm and giddy. “Love you too Code-ster.” Noah kissed his forehead lightly, making the other smile softly for the first time all day. “You’ll feel better soon.”

\------------

PIZZA KISSES

Living with Owen meant that Noah was used to coming home to the smell of beautifully cooked food or some heavenly greasy takeaway making his stomach rumble.

So Noah didn’t think too much of it when he stepped through the door to the smell of something garlicky and tomatoey one day in late March. Owen must have cooked something before he left for his date with Izzy.

Noah was slipping off his shoes, ready for an evening of TV and reading, when he heard a high-pitched giggle come from the kitchen.

 _Huh, maybe Cody had been sucking up some helium or some shit while he was gone._

Noah sauntered through to the kitchen to see what was happening, dumping his bag on the sofa as he passed by.

He hadn’t expected to see Cody standing in the middle of the room, covered in flour and singing along to the radio with a ladle for a microphone. Noah entered the room with a grin on his face, making Cody jump when he noticed him. Noah had completely forgotten that Cody had said Sierra was coming over, as she sat at the table, chewing on piece of yellow pepper.

“Hey.” Noah greeted them both.

“Hi Noah!” Sierra called out to him enthusiastically. “Want some pepper?” She pushed the bowl of cut up vegetable to him.

“Uh, no thanks, I’m good.” Noah had gotten used to Sierra over the years, finding her more tolerable as she’d calmed down as they grew up, her obsession with Cody merging from fangirl love to genuine close friendship between the two. Noah was always polite and friendly to her when he saw her, mostly on account of her being Cody’s past roommate and best friend, but he still didn’t willingly hang out with her often. He could only handle Sierra in small doses most of the time.

“What are you guys doing?” Noah sat down across from the purple-haired girl. The kitchen smelt great, sauce simmering in a pan on the hob, and the oven was baking something meaty and mouth-watering.

“Making pizzas.” Cody replied, gesturing to the mess of flour and dough on the counter, and himself.

“Why don’t you just order some?” Noah joked.

“Not as fun.” He shrugged, coming over to the table. “Plus, this is healthier too, lot’s of fresh vegetables and homemade sauce, not garbage.” Cody leant over patting Noah on his stomach affectionately.

Okay, maybe he’d been ordering a bit too much again lately, but it’s not like Cody had complained, squishing in as close as possible to Noah’s soft body each night.

“Pizza’s no good if it’s from a diet book.” Noah smirked back, grabbing Cody’s by the wrist and pulling him closer. “You have flour on your face.” Cody slid onto his lap, letting Noah wipe the powder off of his nose and cheek bone.

“We’ll convert you, it’s so tasty, we’ve made it a bunch of times before!” Sierra spoke up, her eyes shining at the two boys opposite her.

“Anyway, it’s not so healthy if you cover yours in mountains of meat and cheese.” Cody got up and went back to rolling out the dough. “Want me to make you one or do you want to pick your own toppings?”

“Mm, surprise me.” Noah rested an elbow on the table, narrowly avoiding a bowl of mushrooms. He rested his head on his hand, watching Cody with affection, feeling his heart melt at Cody slapping at the dough with his tongue out, unaware of just how cute he looked right now.

“You got it.” Cody went to work, Sierra standing up and joining him after shooting a knowing smile to Noah.

Noah remained in the two best friends company at the table, joking alongside them and switching the station on the radio when they asked. Cody and Sierra cooked up a storm, making pizza for them all, including Owen and Izzy when they got home, a range of flavours and delicious scents. Noah got a glimpse of what it must have been like when the two had lived together, Cody in his element and at ease, singing along to pop hits and giggling with Sierra about old neighbours and Sierra’s blogs.

More than anything, Noah was content to bask in the sunshine that was Cody’s happy smile at hanging with Sierra again. Cody was enjoying himself, tossing sliced olives at Noah to catch like he was a seal, or sneaking mouthfuls of grated cheese for himself. Noah didn’t say a word when he did, secretly happy to see Cody enjoying and comfortable with food for the first time in a while.

Eventually, the pizza’s where finished and they carried them through to the living room, relaxing on the sofa with beer and a new episode of MasterChef playing.

“We should send you two onto the show, this smells amazing.” Noah’s mouth was watering as Cody handed him the pizza he’d made for him.

“I present to you,” Cody put on a stupid accent, mimicking the stereotypical New Jersey accent like one of the contestants on the show. “A pizza my Nonna taught me to make back in the day. Some delicious Moah-zah-rella, some chilli’s, some salaaaahmi and mushroom, lotsa cheese, lotsa basil and some spicy chicken.” He blew a chefs kiss to really drill in the stereotype.

Noah chuckled at Cody’s theatrical performance and accepted the plate, Sierra giggling at Cody from the armchair.

Noah took one bite and audibly moaned at the taste.

“Is it good?” Cody was waiting for a verdict.

“Oh my god Cody, I could marry you right now.” Noah’s voice was muffled as he took another bite. “This is sooo good, be my husband just so I can have food like this every day.” Now he understood what ambrosia was, it was Cody’s cooking.

“That good you want to wife my up, huh?” Cody grinned, preening at the praise. “You’d get sick of it quick.”

“Would not, I could eat this forever.”

“I think you’d explode.” Cody teased. Noah shrugged, busy inhaling the delicious pizza.

“You guys are sooo married already.” Sierra jumped in, whistling at the two on the sofa.

“Shut up, how’s DJ?” Cody shot back, shifting away from Noah, letting him enjoy his dinner.

Sierra rambled on about how well their café was doing and how DJ had actually found time to take her on a couple of really cute dates since moving in together, Cody chewing on his own much vegeteblier pizza, joining in whenever Sierra paused for breath or to take a sip of her drink. Noah focused more on his delicious dinner and the TV, allowing Cody to kick his legs over Noah’s. Noah finished up, letting the two chat away, absent-mindedly stroking Cody’s ankle.

Sierra excused herself to go to the bathroom, and Cody moved off of Noah to take the plates through to the kitchen, returning with some more beer, leaving one next to Sierra’s chair for her before he sank back down beside Noah, handing him a bottle.

“Can I put my legs back?” Cody asked.

“Sure.” Noah took a sip as Cody dumped his legs back on his lap, sneaking a glance to Cody before beginning to laugh.

“What?” Cody blushed, feeling Noah’s eyes on him. Sierra seemed to be taking her time in the bathroom, maybe her BBQ chicken had been bad.

“You still have flour on your face.” Noah grinned, thumbing the mixture at the edge of Cody’s chin.

“Oh.” Cody laughed. “You sure the pizza was ok?”

“It was perfect.” Noah hadn’t moved his hand away yet, though he maybe he should. Cody was smiling sweetly at him, accepting the compliment.

“Of course you’d say that though.” Cody blushed. “I’ve seen you eat four-day old pasta before, so does it really count?”

“Yes!” Noah protested, mock insulted. That had been one time. “But more importantly, I saw that you enjoyed cooking them with Sierra, and you were actually excited to eat something for the first time in forever. So yeah, it was a winner.”

“Mm, it was just pizza, not a 5-star dinner.” Cody turned his face into Noah’s touch, attempting to hide his smile.

“I’ll take your pizza any day over some fancy-schamncy tiny plates of caviar and other rich crap that will just leave me hungry.” Noah continued stroking lightly at Cody’s cheek, even though there was nothing there to rub away anymore.

Noah saw the bathroom door open and Sierra pause. Cody had his back to her and hadn’t noticed. Sierra gave Noah a thumbs up when she saw what was going on then slunk back into the bathroom silently. Cody was still in his hands, pliant and dreamy.

Noah leant forward, testing the waters, pressing a light kiss to Cody’s cheek, something he’d done a hundred times before, but there was something different about this one, tentative and unsure. He pulled back slowly to assess Cody’s reaction. Cody’s eyes were half-closed, a gentle smile on his face.

“Where are you going?” Cody asked.

“Huh?”

“You kiss me on the cheek when you’re going somewhere.” Cody answered, his expression a mixture of confusion and a hint of hopefulness.

“I’m not leaving, I just wanted to do that.” Noah replied, and feeling brave after seeing Cody’s reaction, he pressed forward and did it again, a tad closer to Cody’s lips. Noah felt his heart pulse with pure love for the other when he felt Cody giggle against him, shuffling in even closer. “Is that ok to do?” Noah asked.

“Of course.” Cody whispered, twisting his fingers through the tufts of Noah’s hair that had began to escape from his hair tie, sending shivers down Noah’s spine. “You can do it again, anytime you like.”

“Like now?” Noah saw the bathroom door was still closed; he’d have to thank Sierra later.

“Yeah.” Cody’s face was millimetres away from his own.

“Kay.” And Noah did, brushing his lips lightly against Cody’s cheeks, feeling Cody twitch under his hold, untwisting Noah’s hair from the ponytail and shaking it loose. He waved his fingers through his hair and Noah moved up, peppering light kisses to Cody’s nose, his cheekbone, his eyebrow, before leaning back, making sure Cody was on board.

When he moved away, Cody whined like a kitten, digging his fingernails into the back of Noah’s neck, not enough to hurt, but it made every nerve in Noah’s body shiver, displeased at Noah, not for kissing him, but for stopping. Noah felt like he’d just won the lottery, seeing Cody pouting at him with affection, eager for Noah to continue. So he did.

But Noah went a step further, kissing the corner of Cody’s mouth, their lips brushing for a second.

“Is it ok to do that?” Noah _had_ to be sure that Cody felt the same, that he wanted this as much as Noah did.

“Yes!” Cody groaned, bubbling with excitement and want.

Noah couldn’t help but grin at Cody’s enthusiasm, leaning in a fourth time and kissing him solidly on the lips, a kiss he’s been wanting to do again since Valentine’s day. Cody melted into the touch, kissing back with glee. Noah deepened the kiss, his hands on Cody’s waist. Cody slipped his tongue softly over Noah’s bottom lip, and Noah opened up, taking in the taste of Cody’s tongue. They kissed like they had all the time in the world.

Noah had completely forgotten about their guest at this point, until a loud poppy tune echoed out from the bathroom behind them.

Cody extracted himself from Noah’s face as they heard Sierra’s shrill chattering to someone on the phone. Noah felt Cody slip back onto the sofa, missing the warmth of Cody against him. Cody grinned at Noah like he knew what Noah was thinking as Sierra returned, and that comforted Noah, that Cody seemed to have enjoyed it as much as he had.

“I am soooo sorry guys!” Sierra rambled. “Do you want me to go back in?” She bit her lip, hovering and unsure what to do.

“Don’t be stupid.” Cody motioned for her to sit back down. “We’re still hanging out.”

“DJ’s picking me up in about half an hour, don’t worry.” She told them.

Noah didn’t want to be mean, but he wanted DJ to get here right now, so he could carry on kissing Cody senseless. They lapsed back into the cheerful chatting for the remaining time with Sierra, Cody still stroking Noah’s hair, the gentle touches between the two continuing in the background.

~~~~

Sierra left eventually, Cody and Noah had a brief chat with DJ at the door that turned into half an hour longer.

As soon as the door shut behind the couple, Cody pushed Noah up against the wall, kissing him with intensity. Noah heard a giggle in the hallway from Sierra, the thud must have been loud enough for them to hear, but he ignored her, tugging at Cody, pulling his lithe body against his own, kissing him back with passion.

“Bedroom.” Cody commanded, breaking the kiss breathlessly to tug Noah by his sleeve to their room.

They slammed the door behind them, Noah locking the door in case Izzy or Owen came flouncing in without knocking, as they were prone to do. He didn’t want any disturbances between himself and Cody, he just wanted to devote everything he had to the cute gap-toothed boy who had returned his lips to Noah’s.

Cody knew what he wanted, falling backwards onto the bed, pulling Noah down roughly on top of him. They kissed energetically, Cody kicking his phone and one of Noah’s books off of the duvet when his leg hit them. Noah was too enthralled with the taste of Cody’s tongue to care about his novel landing awkwardly, the ruffled pages and his place lost, unimportant compared to exploring every inch of Cody’s mouth with his own. Noah pressed down onto Cody, kissing him deeper as Cody wrapped his legs around Noah’s waist, hands mussed in Noah’s hair. Noah moved his head, sucking at Cody’s neck, feeling the skin heat as they grinded together, both panting already.

“Up.” Cody pushed at Noah’s chest, his tone demanding and strong.

Noah obeyed, sitting up and watching Cody with want as Cody followed him, flinging his T-shirt off without a second thought, crawling into Noah’s lap and returning to kissing him fiercely. Noah’s hands were gripping at Cody’s hip bones in seconds, like they were magnets for his fingertips, his nails digging in as Cody rubbed against his bulge. Cody stopped for a moment to tug at Noah’s shirt expectantly, and this time Noah was ok, confident to comply, removing his top and gasping at the feverish heat between them when their bare skin touched. He’d missed this.

Cody was like a man on a mission, his lips and tongue working their magic at Noah’s neck, his shoulder, his chest, like he couldn’t pick which part of Noah he wanted to devour first. Noah leant back onto his elbows, his mind racing almost as fast as his pulse was as Cody left marks all over him.

“I want you.” Cody spoke again, his voice deep with lust.

Those three words alone sent a chill down Noah’s spine, his dick harder than ever as Cody held his gaze, sitting on Noah’s hips and looking down at him with total desire. Noah didn’t think anyone would ever look at him like this, it made him feel like he was the most attractive man in the world right now, someone like Cody begging him with his eyes and now his words to ravish him.

“What do you want me to do?” Noah’s voice was hoarse, distracted by Cody unbuttoning his jeans and yanking them down his legs. Noah shuffled them off as best as he could with Cody on top of him, eventually kicking them off at his ankles.

“Everything.” Cody leant forwards, whispering in his ear, his breath tickling Noah’s lobe. Noah moaned as Cody nipped his ear, desperate for Noah to hurry up.

“Ye…yeah I can do that.” Noah had never been good at dirty talk, but he knew how to make Cody fall apart in his hands, so he did, helping Cody out of his jeans and underwear, his hands on Cody’s bare ass tightly, as he kissed him raw.

Cody writhed against him, gasping Noah’s name as Noah teased at his hole, his face in the dip at Cody’s shoulder. Somewhere along the line, his own boxers had ended up on the floor, uncaring of his naked form right now, not when it seemed to make Cody melt with want.

“All the way?” Noah asked. He wanted Cody so goddamn badly right now, more than ever.

“Yes.” Cody kissed him, softer than before, making Noah’s fingers stop for a moment, cupping Cody’s cheek and kissing him back gently.

Their eyes met for a moment, lost in each other’s gaze. Somehow this made Noah feel more vulnerable and open than sitting there, naked and on display to Cody. This felt different than a stupid hook up, this was something deep and meaningful for both of them, Noah could feel it. Cody didn’t shy away, his blush present as Noah kissed him on the forehead. Cody murmured something that Noah didn’t quite catch.

“What?” Noah asked him to repeat it, but Cody shook his head, hiding his face in Noah’s neck.

“Nothing.” Cody mumbled, leaving butterfly soft kisses on his jaw.

“Ok?” Noah stroked his back lightly. The tempo was slower, this didn’t feel like just fucking around.

“Yeah.” Cody said quietly. “Just got lost in how beautiful you are for a moment.”

Noah’s stomach lurched at such a kind comment, his heart practically hammering out of his chest with the amount of love and devotion he had for Cody, so much that he wondered how he could contain it all.

“Thank you.” Noah wasn’t sure how to respond properly. “You’re the one that’s beautiful in this room though, and not just in how you look.” Cody lifted his head to squint at Noah. “You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever met Cody, inside and out.” Noah couldn’t stop, the words pouring out of his mouth before he could stifle them, Cody’s eyes wide at him. “You’re like, this constant little piece of sunshine in my life, I…” Noah laughed nervously.

Cody looked at him with utter adoration, and Noah didn’t want to speak anymore. He kissed Cody again, feeling Cody wrap his arms around Noah’s neck, his fingers edging at Noah’s scalp. Cody broke off to reach for the bottle of lotion that was in the bedside cabinet, that Noah kept there, and if it had been any other time, he might have been embarrassed about his roommate finding his lube, but it didn’t seem so cringy when said roommate was naked in his lap right now. 

Cody uncapped the bottle, looking at Noah expectantly.

“Which way do you want to go? Top or bottom?” Noah asked.

“Which do you prefer?” Cody asked.

Noah shrugged. “What do you want?” He stroked Cody’s face, making him shiver.

“I want you to do more than just tease.” Cody smirked at him, sliding his ass over Noah’s dick, giving Noah his own fair share of teasing.

Noah understood, lubing up a couple of fingers, kissing Cody hard as he slotted one finger inside, feeling Cody gasp into his mouth.

“Ok?” He asked, unmoving as Cody breathed hard.

“Yeah, hnn.” Cody started rocking, letting Noah in deeper.

When Cody felt ready, he fitted in another finger, then a third, kissing Cody each time he did so. Cody felt like putty in his hands, moaning with pleasure, sliding up and down. “Ready?” Noah felt ready to explode, he wanted to feel _all_ of him.

“Mm, yeah.” Cody purred, easing off of Noah’s hand, squeezing out some of the gel and stroking it liberally over Noah’s member, palming his balls and making Noah bite his lip.

Cody lay back onto the sheets, Noah following him down, lining himself up and kissing Cody softly. While they kissed, he slid inside, his hands gripping Cody’s ass. Cody twitched under him, his fingernails cutting into Noah’s forearms. They were both burning hot and panting into each other’s mouths, even before Noah started to move, his hips shaking as Cody matched him in tandem, gasping Noah’s name over and over.

Noah had had sex before, but never like this. This truly felt special, Cody pink cheeked and gorgeous, encouraging Noah to go deeper, harder, faster, repeatedly moaning in desire. Noah let himself go, completely wrapped up in the heat of Cody, his dick throbbing inside as Cody pulsed and tensed around him, reaching orgasm, crying out Noah’s name again, loudly. It was a good thing they were the only ones in the apartment right now. 

Noah held him as Cody rode it out, following him in orgasm as Cody bucked up, scratching his nails down Noah’s back. Cody kissed him hard, petting at his face and hair, both fiery and loving all at once. Noah’s whole body shook, until it went limp and he practically fell on top of Cody. Cody held him close, wrapping his legs tightly around Noah, the stickiness of both of them unfazing him. Noah lifted his head from Cody’s chest, but their torsos where still pressed together, still intertwined with Noah inside. He looked at Cody’s face, damp with sweat, but blissed out, a soft smile on his face. Noah grinned at him, wiping a hand through his own damp hair.

“Wow…” He breathed, easing out of Cody. Cody kept him close, still on top of him, the liquid between them trailing down his leg and onto the sheets. Least it was on top of the duvet, easy to change, not on the mattress, Noah reasoned.

“I love you.” Cody said softly, his eyes half closed.

“What?” Noah held his breath, had Cody really just said that?

“That’s what I said earlier.” Cody stroked Noah’s face.

“Do you mean it?” Noah asked, eyes huge.

“I…” And Noah felt his heart sink, it was just one of those afterglow confessions that people didn’t mean. “I shouldn’t have said that.” Cody turned his head into the pillow. “Sorry.”

Noah lay there for a moment, trying to wrap his head around everything that had happened.

“That’s not what I asked.” Noah said eventually.

“I know.” Cody wouldn’t look at him. “But it’s what I’m saying. Sorry, I…I know this is just something casual, please just ignore it.” Cody tried to move out from under him, trying to run and hide.

Noah pressed him down, not letting him go.

For once in their lives, they were going to talk about this. It had gone on too long, Noah needed to say what he felt.

“We never actually said it was a casual thing.” Noah pointed out. “It always just happened, then we didn’t ever bring it up and just went back to normal the next day.”

“Yeah…” Cody sounded shy and hesitant.

“I never once said I only wanted to fuck around with you.” Noah confessed. “I know I also never said that I wanted more, so I get why you got the impression that I only wanted a casual thing.”

“Wait, I’m confused.” Cody eventually faced him, letting Noah slide off of him to lay down beside him.

Noah grabbed the tissues, hastily cleaning them both up and sliding them under the covers. He didn’t want to have this conversation still covered in spunk.

“Sorry, I think we’ve just been stupidly unclear with each other.” Noah said, pulling Cody in close again.

Cody stayed in his hold but was still looking at Noah uncertainly. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Noah traced a finger over Cody’s cheek, “That I love you. I almost said it earlier but figured the middle of sex might have been a pretty crappy moment.”

Cody didn’t answer at first, and Noah felt a pit of dread in his stomach. He’d read everything wrong, Cody didn’t really like him back, and he’d just thrown his neck out for nothing. Cody leant forward and pressed their lips together, only for a moment, sincere and sweet.

“You do?”

“I do.” Noah laughed; his nerves high. Well, since it was all out in the open, he may as well say it all. “I think I have for a long time; I was just trying to convince myself that I only liked you as a friend that I thought was hot.”

Cody laughed at that, but not meanly. “I think I know what you mean.” He rubbed their noses together. “I love you too Noah.” He kissed him again. “And I would really like to be able to say that every day, and not have anymore confusing flings please.” 

Noah felt like someone had just handed him a million dollars and a lifetime free pass at the bookstore. Scratch that, hearing Cody say he loved him was far, far better than anything he could have ever imagined. His heart was burning, the sheer amount of love he felt for Cody was overwhelming, but he wanted to express it, in kisses and flowers, in making Cody laugh and smile at him like he was the best thing in his life. Noah knew that Cody was his, nobody else had ever compared to what he felt for Cody.

“How about making love each night instead?” Noah offered.

“Cheesy.” Cody giggled. “But yes please. And some hot banging in the mornings too.” He grinned.

“I can work with that.” Noah brushed their lips together, smiling into another kiss.

“So, uhm, just to be clear,” Cody began. “Are we dating now? I’d really like to be together aha.”

“Of course.” Noah intertwined their fingers. “Even though I think we’ve basically been dating for like three months now already, just unsaid.”

“True, we have been pretty domestic.” Cody agreed, his eyes shining. “And I’ve loved it.”

“Me too.” Noah kissed him again, kissed his new boyfriend, the love of his life.

~~~~ 

The new couple slept for a few hours, still draped over each other.

Noah awoke sometime around midnight, his muscles sore, but every part of him content. For a moment, he wondered if it had all just been a dream, until he looked down to Cody’s naked form lain over him, their hands still intertwined on Noah’s chest. He couldn’t resist kissing the top of Cody’s head, his chestnut hair soft and smelling like Noah’s shampoo.

Cody mumbled something, slowly wakening, tilting his head to blink up at Noah in the dark, his teal eyes illuminated by the streetlamp from outside.

“Mornin’.” Cody grinned at him sleepily.

“More like midnight.” Noah smirked back, kissing Cody gently on the nose. Cody purred against him, pressing light kisses to Noah’s pecs and collar bone.

“Want some pancakes?” Noah offered. His stomach was rumbling.

“No.” Cody sat up anyway. “But I do want cereal.” Ok, that counted.

“Kay, lemmie make you cereal then.” Noah dressed himself, unable to hold back from cupping Cody’s sweet face in his hands and kissing him once more.

“We’re gonna be as sickening as Izzy and Owen, aren’t we?” Cody laughed, slipping his own PJ’s back on and following Noah out to the kitchen.

“Yep.” Noah said as they entered the room, Owen sitting at the table on his laptop and eating leftover pizza.

“Hey guys?” Owen glanced between the two as Noah pulled out pancake mix and bowls, Cody reaching for his fruity cereal.

“Sup.” Noah waved lazily to Owen.

Owen didn’t say anything, taken aback at his two friends, dishevelled and tired, Cody’s lips still red from the kisses. Noah had his back to Owen, but when he turned to take the box of cereal out of Cody’s hands, he saw the unmistakable hickey on his best friends neck. They’d been at it again, obviously. When were they going to learn?

“Hey, I said I was making you cereal, right?” Noah teased, making Cody smile at him stupidly. “You made me pizza, now I make you a 5-star midnight snack. I’ll even spruce it up and put strawberries in it if you want? Real strawberries.” Noah grinned, pressed flush against Cody.

“Fine then, woo me chef.” Cody accepted, pecking Noah on the lips.

Owen blinked at the exchange. He’d seen them have their funny little goodbye kisses for two and a half months now, but never on the lips. Now that he looked at them, there was just something slightly different between them, a change in their aura. Noah laughed at Cody’s exchange, grabbing him by the wrist and kissing him back.

“Uhm…” Owen was dumbfounded. Finally?!

“Right, PDA, sorry. Couldn’t resist.” Noah grinned sheepishly, grabbing strawberries from the fridge, Cody following him around the kitchen, arms wrapped around his waist, clinging to him like a personal backpack.

“No, it’s fine, it’s so cute!” Owen was happy for them, had they finally talked?

Cody shot a smile to Owen over his shoulder, then returned his face to the back of Noah’s neck.

“So uh…” Owen knew they were wrapped up in their own little world right now, but he needed answers! “Has eh, this been another one of those nights?”

“Kinda?” Noah turned, Cody still hanging off of him. Cody stared up at him with total adoration, the silent ok to tell Owen. “But uhm, yeah we talked.”

“And?!” Owen was bouncing in his seat, his excitement evident.

“So we sorted things. No more playing around.” Cody said, taking a hold of Noah’s hand.

“Yeah. Confessed to him and everything.” Noah ran a hand through his hair, a bit embarrassed but overall in seventh heaven. “So, yeah,” His and Cody’s eyes met, and they shared a soft smile. “We’re together. For real.”

“For real.” Cody mimicked, squeezing his hand.

“Ohhhhhh!!!!” Owen couldn’t hold back his happiness, leaping out of his chair to hug the couple. “I’m so happy for you guys!”

“Yeah, yeah buddy, I can tell.” Noah patted him lightly on the back, Cody squished between them. “Now let up, I think you’re suffocating Cody.”

“Oh sorry.” Owen moved away, looking at his two friends. Just from this, he could see there was a weight lifted off of Noah’s shoulders, he seemed happier already. “Can I be the best man at your wedding?”

“Urgghhhh” Noah groaned, and Cody laughed into his shoulder, the three content and happy.

Three and a half years later, Owen cried through his speech as best man, as the two had an autumn wedding, more in love than ever. 

\------------ 

**Author's Note:**

> OK I can't believe I've written explicit fic of Total Drama! But hey, these things happen. 
> 
> These two are adorable, and honestly, this fic was just so fun to write and hopefully I didn't write them too OOC. I just want them both to be happy and in love tbh. Please tell me what you thought! Hopefully it flowed ok, here's a bit of help with the timeline of each snippet. 
> 
> Intro: January 3rd/4th  
> Migration from sofa to snuggles: January 7th - January 28thish and onwards  
> 5 Kisses: January 16th - 24thish and onwards  
> Clothes sharing: February 5th or 6th  
> Starbucks break room gossip: February 17thish - Mid March  
> Valentines Date: February 14th obviously  
> BFF Help: February 23rd  
> Napping together: March 12th  
> Sickening: March 17th  
> Pizza kisses: March 25th


End file.
